Overview
Videos
Resources
Technologies
Services & support
Contact us

Our technologies support every step of battery development, including raw material extraction and refining, electrode material manufacturing, on-line quality verification in the production line, and material recovery in battery recycling, as well as next-generation battery research. Power your advancements with our comprehensive portfolio of analytical instruments, software, and related tools and technologies, including inductively coupled plasma-optimal emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), high-pressure ion chromatography (HPIC), and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry systems.

Our analytical solutions enable you to be more productive and to gain more insights to improve battery safety and longevity, decrease charging time, and boost power output. Our chromatography and mass spectrometry solutions offer:

  • Reliable, robust, and sensitive electrolyte composition and purity confirmation
  • Identification of electrolyte degradation products and elucidation of degradation pathways
  • Superior stability for quantifying major cathode material elements, including lithium, nickel, manganese, iron, phosphorus, and cobalt
  • Fast, accurate and precise detection of trace elemental impurities in battery component materials
  • Elemental and organic component analysis for battery aging, charge – discharge cycle performance and safety testing
  • Reproducible, high-quality results
batterywebinarpod-370x98

Battery Webinars- 60 min On-Demand

Hear from experts about analytical solutions for lithium-ion battery material analysis and testing.

From research and development, through quality control of raw materials and components, to battery testing and recycling, Thermo Fisher Scientific provides comprehensive analytical technologies, service and support to help you build better batteries.

 

Research

Processes: Novel electrode material research, electrolyte, cathode and anode material degradation studies, failure analysis for scrap reduction, exploring battery material recycling methods, development of next generation technologies, such as solid state and sodium ion batteries

Analytical need: Material elemental and organic composition and purity characterization, examination of causes of battery failure and defect investigation, evaluation of novel electrode and electrolyte materials

Resources to improve your research and development

Mining and mineral processing

Mining and mineral processing

Processes: Mined material processing, refined product purity analysis, quality assurance and control, environmental emission monitoring and control

Analytical need: Bulk process and quality control (QC), mineral, ore, and brine analysis for lithium and impurity element content, composition and purity control of raw nickel, cobalt, manganese materials plus graphite, silicon and composite anode materials

Battery component materials QC

Battery component materials QC

Processes: Cathode active material and anode material production, electrolyte production, slurry solvent purity testing and electrode slurry formulation testing

Analytical need: Elemental and organic solvent composition and purity testing of cathode, electrolyte and anode materials, electrode manufacturing process control, electrode slurry formation quality assurance and control

Quality assurance and quality control

Quality assurance and quality control

Processes: Performance testing, failed battery material rejection, battery calendar and charge / discharge cycle aging studies

Analytical need: Analysis of electrolyte degradation products, elemental quantitation and purity of cathode and anode materials, organic component measurement in electrolyte solutions, and investigation of separator degradation products in failed and aged battery cells.

Additional battery testing resources
Recycling

Recycling

Processes: Screening incoming material, battery metals recovery, composition and purity testing of recycled material to ensure that it’s battery grade quality

Analytical need: Elemental content screening of incoming feedstock materials to determine the battery chemistry and to optimise the recycling process, elemental composition and purity testing of final recycled and purified products, waste screening and effluent monitoring

1. How can I test trace metals and major elements in cathode active material within Lithium Ion Battery Chemistry?

Answer: ICP-OES or ICP-MS systems have well defined methods for analyzing cathode active materials for trace metal contaminants, including magnetic particles at the ppm – to – sub ppb levels.

View application notes to learn more

2. How can I perform life cycle analysis for lithium ion battery components/materials (Anode, cathode binder, electrolyte, etc.)?

Answer: - Li Ion batteries are rated for up to 1000 charge-discharge -charge cycles. However, during the lifetime of the battery changes to anode, cathode and electrolyte can occur which reduce charge capacity and discharge efficiency. You can use various analytical techniques to determine what is changing chemically and physically in the battery system. GC, LC, ICP-MS, and IC coupled with HR mass spectrometry can identify the breakdown products that form over time reducing battery performance.

View case studies to learn more

3. Lithium Battery Chemistry: How can I look for organic impurities in electrolyte?

Answer: The impurity of interest will determine which solution will work best. For organic components, Ion and gas chromatography can deliver the answers. If you are targeting inorganic targets, ICP-OES or ICP-MS can detect metal particles in the sample.

View application notes to learn more

4. Lithium Battery Chemistry: How can I analyze battery swell gas?

Answer: Overheating of Li-Ion batteries can cause gas pressure to build up in closed cells, which can cause rupture of the battery with subsequent leaking of hazardous material and potential for fire. Gas chromatography can detect and identify the components in the swell gases to enable fault detections and battery performance analysis.

View application note to learn more

5. What methods can be used to determine NMC content in Cathode Active Material (CAM)?

Answer: NMC, Nickle -Manganese-Cobalt, is the leading material used for constructing the cathode within Lithium Battery Chemistry. The Ni:Mn:Co ratio varies by application, and it is important for the manufacture to confirm the ratio is as required. For instance, NMC 111 (or333) has equimolar amounts of each component, while NMC 685 varies accordingly. ICP-OES can determine the precise blend of NMC in the procured material.

View application note to learn more

6. How can I determine metallic impurities in graphite anodes?

Answer: Graphite powder is the primary material used for anode construction. As in Cathode Active Material, metal particles can produce loss of performance and potentially dangerous short circuits. ICP-OES and ICP-MS are the primary analytical tools to determine metal particle identity and quantity in the anode powder.

View application note to learn more

7. How can I determine the residual NMP in my li ion battery cathode sheets during the production process?

Answer: Using a GC-FID method with static headspace sampling will give you the possibility to rapidly determine the residual NMP in your electrode sheets without performing time and solvent consuming extraction steps in advance. Additionally, this gives you the possibility to make your QC process more sustainable.

View application notes to learn more

8. How can I monitor carbon and sulfur content in LFP or other battery materials?

Answer: Using the FlashSmart Elemental Analyzer will help you to determine carbon and sulfur content in an easy and fast way. As this method works by combusting the sample there is no digestion of the solid materials needed. The simultaneous determination of carbon and sulfur gives you the possibility to analyze different battery materials with a common method.

View application notes to learn more

9. How can I monitor my battery recycling process?

Answer: ICP-MS system can determine major components and impurities so that you can control the purity of your recycled components at each single step of the recycling process.

View application notes to learn more

As lithium-ion batteries become more advanced, so do the manufacturing processes required to create them. We offer a broad range of tools and instruments, including ion chromatography, elemental analysis, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, that enable the production of advanced battery technology.

Maximize your instrument uptime with superior services and support.

There’s no time for downtime in your lab. Customers worldwide who depend on maximum availability of lab instruments for critical operations choose the Unity Lab Services Premier service plan to minimize disruption and stay focused on production.

Features of the Premier service plan include:

  • Two-business-day, on-site response time for corrective maintenance to minimize downtime
  • Unlimited enhanced technical support with immediate response, featuring remote resolution of more than 35% of issues with our remote repair services
  • Proactive annual preventive instrument maintenance that increases uptime
  • Semiannual service consultations delivered by highly experienced and certified service managers

Learn more 

Style Sheet for Global Design System
Style Sheet for Komodo Tabs
CMD Wide-format style fixes