High-throughput manufacturing processes for making electrochemical unit cells and electrochemical unit cells produced using the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11165085-B2
Application number	US-201916451765-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 25, 2019
Priority date	Apr 7, 2016
Publication date	Nov 2, 2021
Grant date	Nov 2, 2021

Abstract

Flow batteries can be constructed by combining multiple electrochemical unit cells together with one another in a cell stack. High-throughput processes for fabricating electrochemical unit cells can include providing materials from rolled sources for forming a soft goods assembly and a hard goods assembly, supplying the materials to a production line, and forming an electrochemical unit cell having a bipolar plate disposed on opposite sides of a separator. The electrochemical unit cells can have configurations such that bipolar plates are shared between adjacent electrochemical unit cells in a cell stack, or such that bipolar plates between adjacent electrochemical unit cells are abutted together with one another in a cell stack.

First claim

What is claimed:

1. A method comprising:
supplying rolls of a separator material, a cathode material, and an anode material to a production line;
adhering the cathode material and the anode material on opposing sides of the separator material at a first location in the production line, thereby forming a soft goods assembly;
supplying rolls of a first insulator material and a second insulator material to the production line;
defining windows within the first insulator material and the second insulator material in the production line, adhering first and second frame layers comprising the first insulator material on opposing sides of the soft goods assembly in the production line, and adhering a third frame layer onto the first frame layer and a fourth frame layer onto the second frame layer in the production line, the third frame layer and the fourth frame layer comprising the second insulator material;
supplying rolls of a third insulator material to the production line;
defining windows within the third insulator material in the production line, and adhering a fifth frame layer onto the third frame layer and a sixth frame layer onto the fourth frame layer in the production line, the fifth frame layer and the sixth frame layer comprising the third insulator material;
supplying rolls of a fourth insulator material and a bipolar plate material to the production line; and
defining windows within the fourth insulator material in the production line, adhering the bipolar plate material to the fourth insulator material in the production line such that the windows in the fourth insulator material are occluded by the bipolar plate material, and
adhering a seventh frame layer to the fifth frame layer and an eighth frame layer to the sixth frame layer in the production line, the seventh frame layer and the eighth frame layer comprising the fourth insulator material, thereby defining an electrochemical unit cell;
wherein the windows within the first insulator material, the second insulator material and third insulator material overlay one another when disposed as the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth frame layers; and
wherein the bipolar plate material contacts the cathode material and the anode material on opposing sides of the soft goods assembly.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
adhering the first insulator material and the second insulator material to one another before adhering the first frame layer and the second frame layer onto the soft goods assembly.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the cathode material and the anode material are adhered to the separator material using a pressure-sensitive adhesive.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein each of the frame layers are collectively adhered to one another.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
connecting a plurality of the electrochemical unit cells together with one another in series;
wherein adjacent electrochemical unit cells within the electrochemical stack have a bipolar plate from a first electrochemical unit cell abutted together with a bipolar plate from a second electrochemical unit cell.

6. A method of fabricating a bipolar plate module for electrical communication with an electrochemical cell, comprising:
supplying a roll of a first insulator material to a production line; defining windows within the first insulator material in the production line;
supplying a roll of a bipolar plate material to the production line;
adhering the bipolar plate material to the first insulator material in the production line such that the windows in the first insulator material are occluded by the bipolar plate material;
supplying rolls of a second insulator material to the production line; defining windows within the second insulator material in the production line and adhering the second insulator material on opposing sides of the first insulator material;
supplying rolls of a third insulator material to the production line;
defining windows within the third insulator material in the production line and adhering the third insulator material to the second insulator material on opposing sides of the first insulator material;
supplying rolls of a fourth insulator material to the production line; and
defining windows within the fourth insulator material in the production line and adhering the fourth insulator material to the third insulator material on opposing sides of the first insulator material.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the separator material comprises an ionically conductive polymer.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one of cathode and anode comprise carbon felt.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first, second, third and fourth insulator material comprises polyolefin material.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the polyolefin material comprises polyethylene.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one frame window is formed by die-cutting, laser cutting or stamping.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one frame adhering step is accomplished by use of pressure sensitive adhesive, heat-curable adhesive, or UV-curable adhesive.

13. The method of claim 6 , wherein the bipolar plate material comprises flexible graphite foil, expanded graphite, metal film, foil or metal sheet.

14. The method of claim 6 , wherein at least one of the first, second, third and fourth insulator material comprises polyolefin material.

Assignees

• Lockheed Martin Energy Llc

Inventors

• Warrington Curtis
• Madden Thomas H
• Puranam Srivatsava

Classifications

• H01M8/2404 Primary

  Processes or apparatus for grouping fuel cells · CPC title

• Y02P70/50

  Manufacturing or production processes characterised by the final manufactured product · CPC title

• H01M8/188 Primary

  by recharging of redox couples containing fluids; Redox flow type batteries · CPC title

• H01M8/242

  comprising framed electrodes or intermediary frame-like gaskets (H01M8/2425, H01M8/244 take precedence) · CPC title

• H01M8/0258

  characterised by the configuration of channels, e.g. by the flow field of the reactant or coolant · CPC title