CELL WITH IMPROVED ABUSE TOLERANCE

1 . An anode-free cell comprising:

a pouch extending along a first axis (X-axis) to define a width, a second axis (Y-axis) orthogonal to the first axis to define a length, and a third axis (Z-axis) orthogonal to the first and second axes to define a thickness;

a cathode comprising a cathode current collector disposed between two cathode active material layers;

an anode current collector;

a separator disposed between the cathode and the anode current collector;

further comprising a short-circuit limitation configuration configured by:

(i) the anode current collector and/or the cathode current collector being a polymer current collector; and/or

(ii) a dimension of the cathode being the same as the dimension of the anode current collector and/or of the separator, or the dimension of the cathode being larger than the dimension of the anode current collector, the dimension being measured in the X-axis and/or Y-axis.

2 . The anode-free cell of claim 1 , wherein the separator encloses at least a portion of the anode current collector.

3 . The anode-free cell of claim 1 , wherein:

the short-circuit limitation configuration includes the polymer current collector, and the polymer current collector comprises a polymer layer disposed between two metal layers.

4 . The anode-free cell of claim 3 , wherein:

the polymer current collector is a polymer anode current collector,

the polymer layer comprises polypropylene (PP), and/or

the two metal layers each comprise copper.

5 . The anode-free cell of claim 3 , wherein:

the polymer current collector is a polymer cathode current collector,

the polymer layer comprises polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and/or

the two metal layers each comprise aluminum.

6 . The anode-free cell of claim 3 , wherein the polymer current collector is a polymer anode current collector and the width and/or length of the polymer layer is greater than the width and/or length of the two metal layers, and

wherein the anode-free cell further comprises a non-metalized extension of the polymer anode current collector.

7 . The anode-free cell of claim 6 , wherein the non-metalized extension is from 2-5 mm in width and/or length in the X-axis and/or Y-axis, respectively.

8 . The anode-free cell of claim 1 , wherein:

the short-circuit limitation configuration includes the polymer current collector, and

the polymer current collector is patterned.

9 . The anode-free cell of claim 8 , wherein the polymer current collector comprises at least a metal layer which further includes a full clearance pattern comprising a plurality of full clearance lines.

10 . The anode-free cell of claim 9 , wherein a width of at least one of the full clearance lines in the X-axis direction is from 10-30 um.

11 . The anode-free cell of claim 9 , wherein a distance between adjacent full clearance lines in the X-axis direction is from 1-5 mm.

12 . The anode-free cell of claim 8 , wherein the polymer current collector comprises at least a metal layer which further includes a dot connection pattern comprising a plurality of dot connection lines.

13 . The anode-free cell of claim 12 , wherein a length of at least one of the dot connection lines in the Y-axis direction is from 0.01-0.5 mm.

14 . A method of manufacturing an anode-free cell comprising:

providing a pouch extending along a first axis (X-axis) to define a width, a second axis (Y-axis) orthogonal to the first axis to define a length, and a third axis (Z-axis) orthogonal to the first and second axes to define a thickness;

providing a cathode by disposing a cathode current collector between two cathode active material layers;

providing an anode current collector;

disposing a separator between the cathode and the anode current collector; and

configuring a short-circuit limitation configuration by:

(i) generating the anode current collector and/or the cathode current collector as a polymer current collector; and/or

(ii) generating a dimension of the cathode to be the same as the dimension of the anode current collector and/or of the separator, or the dimension of the cathode to be larger than the dimension of the anode current collector, the dimension being measured in the X-axis and/or Y-axis.

15 . A cell comprising:

an anode comprising an anode current collector disposed between two anode active material layers;

a cathode comprising a cathode current collector disposed between two cathode active material layers;

a separator disposed between the cathode and the anode;

further comprising a short-circuit limitation configuration wherein:

(i) the anode current collector is a polymer anode current collector and the cathode current collector is a polymer cathode current collector; and

(ii) a dimension of the anode active material layer and of the cathode active material layer in the X and/or Y-axes are the same.

16 . The cell of claim 15 , wherein an anode/positive electrode ratio (A/P ratio) is less than or equal to 1.

17 . The cell of claim 15 , wherein the separator encloses at least a portion of the anode current collector.

18 . The cell of claim 15 , wherein the dimension of the polymer anode current collector and/or of the polymer cathode current collector in the X and/or Y-axes is larger than the dimension of the cathode active material layer and of the anode active material layer in the X and/or Y-axes.

19 . The cell of claim 15 , wherein the cathode current collector comprises aluminum and the anode current collector comprises copper.

20 . A method of manufacturing a cell comprising:

disposing an anode current collector between two anode active material layers to generate an anode;

disposing a cathode current collector between two cathode active material layers to generate a cathode;

disposing a separator between the cathode and the anode;

configuring a short-circuit limitation configuration by:

(i) generating the anode current collector as a polymer anode current collector and the cathode current collector as a polymer cathode current collector; and

(ii) generating a dimension of the anode active material layer and of the cathode active material layer in the X and/or Y-axes to be the same.