Granted Patent B2

US 12,640,360 · App. 18/942,105 · Granted May 26, 2026

Inventor: Emilie Bodoin (Charlestown, MA)

Assignee: PURE LITHIUM CORPORATION

H01M4/0452C25D1/04C25D1/20C25D5/611H01M4/134H01M4/1395C25D5/10C25D5/12H01M2004/021H01M2004/027

Abstract

Claims (39)

1 . A system for producing lithium metal batteries, comprising:

a manufacturing stage configured to fabricate a first electrode, the manufacturing stage comprising:

a lithium supply comprising a feedstock of aqueous lithium salt solution, wherein the feedstock of aqueous lithium salt solution comprises lithium brine mined from a geological resource; and

an electrochemical cell for depositing lithium ions in the feedstock of aqueous lithium salt solution as a layer of lithium metal onto a substrate, wherein the electrochemical cell comprises a lithium-ion selective membrane, wherein the lithium ions flow through the lithium-ion selective membrane to form the layer of lithium metal on the substrate, thereby forming the first electrode; and

a battery assembly stage configured to integrate the first electrode, the lithium-ion selective membrane, and a second electrode into a battery, wherein the first electrode is a negative electrode of the battery, wherein the second electrode is a positive electrode of the battery, and wherein the battery assembly stage comprises a sealer configured to seal the negative electrode, the lithium ion-selective membrane, and the positive electrode in a casing of the battery, and wherein the battery is assembled in a charged state;

wherein the manufacturing stage is operatively coupled to the battery assembly stage, and wherein the lithium supply of the manufacturing stage, the electrochemical cell of the manufacturing stage, and the battery assembly stage are integrated in a same facility contained in an area of no greater than 10 km 2 .

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the electrochemical cell is configured to deposit a second layer of lithium metal onto the substrate, and wherein the negative electrode comprises a double-sided lithium metal negative electrode in the battery.

3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the substrate comprises copper, carbon, or a polymer.

4 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a second manufacturing stage configured to generate a slurry comprising a positive electrode material.

5 . The system of claim 4 , further comprising a coater configured to coat a second substrate with the slurry to fabricate the positive electrode.

6 . The system of claim 5 , wherein the second substrate comprises aluminum.

7 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the facility is contained in an area less than about 1 km 2 .

8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the battery assembly stage further comprises a degasser configured to degas the negative electrode and the positive electrode.

9 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the degasser is further configured to degas an electrolyte.

10 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the sealer is further configured to seal the electrolyte in the casing of the battery.

11 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the sealer is further configured to seal the casing in an inert atmosphere.

12 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the electrochemical cell comprises the lithium-ion selective membrane in contact with a face of the substrate, and wherein the electrochemical cell is configured to deposit the layer of lithium metal onto the face of the substrate.

13 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the electrochemical cell further comprises a second lithium-ion selective membrane in contact with a second face of the substrate, wherein the electrochemical cell is configured to deposit a second layer of lithium metal onto the second face of the substrate, and wherein the first electrode comprises a double-sided lithium metal negative electrode in the battery.

14 . The system of claim 13 , wherein the lithium-ion selective membrane and the second lithium-ion selective membrane are configured to function as solid-state electrolytes in the battery.

15 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the lithium-ion selective membrane is configured to function as a solid-state electrolyte in the battery.

16 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the lithium-ion selective membrane is configured to prevent passage of organic anions.

17 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the layer of lithium metal has an arithmetic mean roughness of less than 0.5 μm.

18 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a lithium resource mining facility, wherein the lithium resource mining facility provides the lithium brine by mining the geological resource.

19 . The system of claim 18 , wherein the manufacturing stage is operatively coupled to at least one of the battery assembly stage and the lithium resource mining facility, and wherein at least two or more of the lithium resource mining facility, the lithium supply of the manufacturing stage, the electrochemical cell of the manufacturing stage, and the battery assembly stage are integrated in a same facility contained in an area of no greater than 10 km 2 .

20 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the lithium-ion selective membrane is disposed between the negative electrode and the positive electrode in the battery.

21 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the feedstock of aqueous lithium salt solution further comprises lithium ions obtained from a lithium battery recycling plant.

22 . A system for producing lithium metal batteries, comprising:

a first manufacturing stage configured to fabricate a first electrode, the first manufacturing stage comprising:

a lithium supply comprising a feedstock of aqueous lithium salt solution, wherein the feedstock of aqueous lithium salt solution comprises lithium brine mined from a geological resource; and

an electrochemical cell comprising a lithium-ion selective membrane in contact with a first substrate, wherein the electrochemical cell is configured to deposit lithium ions in the feedstock of aqueous lithium salt solution as a layer of lithium metal onto the first substrate to fabricate the first electrode, wherein the lithium ions flow through the lithium-ion selective membrane to form the layer of lithium metal on the first substrate, thereby forming the first electrode;

a second manufacturing stage configured to fabricate a second electrode, the second manufacturing stage comprising:

a coater configured to coat a second substrate with a positive electrode material, thereby forming the second electrode; and

a battery assembly stage configured to integrate the first electrode, the lithium-ion selective membrane, and the second electrode into a battery, wherein the first electrode is a negative electrode of the battery, wherein the second electrode is a positive electrode of the battery, and wherein the battery assembly stage comprises a sealer configured to seal the negative electrode, the lithium-ion selective membrane, and the positive electrode in a casing of the battery, and wherein the battery is assembled in a charged state;

wherein the first manufacturing stage is operatively coupled to the second manufacturing stage.

23 . The system of claim 22 , wherein the electrochemical cell is configured to deposit a second layer of lithium metal onto the first substrate, and wherein the negative electrode comprises a double-sided lithium metal negative electrode in the battery.

24 . The system of claim 22 , wherein the first substrate comprises copper, carbon, or a polymer.

25 . The system of claim 22 , wherein the second substrate comprises aluminum.

26 . The system of claim 22 , wherein the lithium-ion selective membrane is disposed between the negative electrode and the positive electrode in the battery.

27 . The system of claim 22 , wherein the feedstock of aqueous lithium salt solution further comprises lithium ions obtained from a lithium battery recycling plant.

Assignments (2)

Continuity (8)

References Cited (320)