Industrial Research Partner Honors Argonne for Exceptional Collaboration

Argonne Director Robert Rosner is congratulated by Miles Drake, Vice President an Chief Technology Office for Air Products. The company honored Argonne for evaluating Air Products' new electrolyte salts.

Air Products and Chemicals of Allentown, Penn., has given Argonne its 4th annual External Collaboration Award.

The company created the award to recognize the results of external-partner collaborative research to demonstrate its commitment to building relationships and strengthening collaborations with external partners, and to stimulate the development of intellectual property with them.

The award recognizes the Battery Technology Department of Argonne's Chemical Engineering Division for its work in evaluating Air Products' new electrolyte salts, citing the group's understanding of the technology and needs of the lithium-ion battery industry, as well as the direction the industry is taking toward hybrid vehicles. Members of the Argonne team included Andrew Jansen, Jun Liu, Zonghai Chen, Khalil Amine, and Gary Henrikson, all of the Laboratory's Chemical Engineering Division.

The company turned to Argonne, with its nearly four decades of experience in lithium battery research and development, for help in determining the salts' viability for use in lithium-ion batteries. Argonne confirmed that the salts work in lithium batteries, and demonstrated that they remain non-corrosive if they become contaminated with moisture. Moreover, Argonne identified several key additives and solvents that enable the company's new salts to be used with common lithium-ion electrodes, forming a promising new electrolyte for the lithium battery industry.

Shown here (left to right) are Argonne research team members Andrew Jansen, Jun Liu,  Zonghai Chen, Khalil Amine, and Battery Technology R&D Department head Gary Henriksen.

Argonne's Work-For-Others agreements are a convenient and effective way for industry to enhance its knowledge and capabilities and find answers to the most challenging questions about its technology. Contracts are tailored to meet the specific needs of the sponsor, built on Argonne's background research, and information is maintained in confidence.

"Argonne scientists work best at coupling basic science to applied technology," said Steve Ban, director of Argonne's Office of Technology Transfer. "Certainly the development of new electrolyte systems for advanced lithium batteries fits that situation well and addresses a high priority need in energy — both are key elements of the Argonne mission."

August 23, 2006