By Wildcat Discovery Technologies
SAN DIEGO, Dec. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Emboldened by its significant progress with nickel-free and cobalt-free cathodes, Wildcat Discovery Technologies today announced it will build a U.S.-based plant to produce a portfolio of safe, sustainable, and abundant cathode materials. Wildcat is already producing LFP samples for customers and is partnering with a major commercial truck manufacturer to develop a differentiated LMFP. Additionally, the company is leveraging its joint development agreement with BMW to advance global leadership in the development of DRX. Beyond the superior safety profile of DRX, Wildcat’s testing indicates the energy density of DRX cathodes is 10-20% higher than the best nickel-based cathodes. Demand is increasing significantly for nickel-free cathode materials that are produced in North America. The cathode accounts for about 50% of the cost of a battery cell, but more than 95% of the global LFP supply today is from China. Wildcat’s deep expertise in battery development is a distinct advantage for scaling cathode materials in the market. Wildcat Discovery Technology’s mission is to produce high-performance U.S.-made cathodes to enable widespread adoption of clean energy. The company plans to manufacture a portfolio of nickel- and cobalt-free cathodes at a plant it builds in the United States, while leveraging its 15 years of materials development to help customers achieve the best integrated battery cell. Customers will have access to LFP, LMFP, and DRX materials produced at the Wildcat plant.
The DRX cathode, as we call it, stands for disordered rock salt. It is a high-energy, no-nickel, no-cobalt product that is going to compete really well with all the high-nickel materials that are in the industry now. We see DRX as a breakthrough for the battery industry. From a performance standpoint, it’s made from mostly abundant and available low-cost materials. No nickel, no cobalt. The material has the potential to be about 20% more energy-dense than the high-nickel materials that are finding their way into the market now. We also see the potential for a big safety advantage. The material performs very well in our early safety testing. And then our DRX product is a great fit for anything needing a boost in energy—especially premium EVs.
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LMFP is a manganese-rich version of LFP. You’re substituting a lot of manganese into the mix to replace some of the iron. A typical ratio of manganese to iron in that product is around 60:40. These products perform similarly, but manganese is very cheap, and it operates at a higher voltage. Because of that higher voltage, you can get about a 15% boost in energy density. The theory is you’re not really adding costs, but you’re adding energy. We think there’s an opportunity to create a better version of LMFP, and so we’re working on this. We have a basic 60:40 manganese version in testing now that some key customers are evaluating. Based on their feedback, we’re pushing that LMFP to higher levels of manganese and better performance.
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LFP Low-risk, existing technology in high demand | ESS, Entry EVs, Short-haul Commercial Trucks Energy Density 205-280 Wh/kg Early Market Entry Lithium Iron Phosphate 1 Wildcat’s LFP is a fundamental building block in the North American Battery Industry 2 Co-development with the company's high-throughput platform (HTP) that enables comprehensive materials experiments to be done 10 times faster than conventional methods 3 Market entry in A-samples in 2024, enabling the next generation of automotive and ESS batteries
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LMFP Next-generation performance upgrade to traditional and expanded LFP markets | ESS, Entry & mid-level EVs, Commercial & Heavy duty trucks Energy Density 235-320 Wh/kg Performance Upgrade Lithium Manganese Iron Phosphate 1 Wildcat’s LMFP is a next generation CAM to unlock the electrification in truck and automotive applications 2 Enabled through Wildcat’s HTP Synthesis platform, producing real materials tested in full cell batteries 3 Significant energy density increase of up to 15% vs LFP
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