Rapid material discovery for solid-state batteries: Coupling low-cost processing with material screening and performance optimization using machine learning

Solid-state batteries (SSBs) have the potential to increase safety and energy density compared to conventional liquid-electrolyte batteries, as they offer the possibility of using pure lithium metal, the most energy-dense anode for Li-batteries. One of the major challenges with SSB implementation is the high ceramic manufacturing temperature needed to sinter and densify powders into traditionally synthesized pellets for the electrolyte and co-sintering of cathodes, leading to high-cost, timeconsuming synthesis and bulky components. The majority of academic research focused on battery prototypes based on ceramic pellet electrolytes and cathode co-sintering is not easily translated into industrially-relevant manufacturing. We identify potential for low temperature processing of SSBs with new wet-chemical synthesis of the ceramic components (avoiding classic high temperature sintering). This project tackles the development bottleneck for wet-chemical ceramic processing routes, particularly the time-intensive structure-property design and synthesis chemistry. In this proposal, we will develop low-temperature (cost), industrially-relevant pyrolysis processing for SSB ceramic component manufacturing combined with rapid material screening and phase classification using machine learning. We aim to revise ceramic processing and combine it with recent developments in machine learning to discover, design and make new ceramic components for SSBs. A new automated pyrolysis ceramic processing set up will be developed based on collaboration among a material ceramicist (PI Rupp), automation expert (PI Matusik) and a data mining expert (PI Olivetti). We believe that our example stated here for SSB ceramic processing and material screening will support academic and engineering efforts for rapid material discovery, device implementation and performance testing beyond the field of SSBs.