Lessons Learned from High Throughput Screening of >250,000 Cells: New Cell Evaluation Methods and Data Mining Techniques

Wildcat Discovery Technologies uses a proprietary high throughput synthesis and screening platform for battery materials. Wildcat’s system produces materials in bulk form, enabling evaluation of its properties in a standard cell configuration. This allows simultaneous optimization of all aspects of the cell, including the active materials, binders, separator, electrolyte and additives.

Over the past 3 years, we have screened over 250,000 cells, developing new cathodes, anodes, and electrolytes for a variety of battery types (primary, secondary, aqueous, non-aqueous). In this talk, I will discuss what we’ve learned from this work. Specifically, new analysis methods to extract more information from each cell, which performance metrics are most predictive of long term cycle life and other failure modes, and sensitivity of performance metrics to changes in cell components. I will also discuss new high throughput cell evaluation methods in use at Wildcat, including high precision coulometery and in-situ gas evolution measurement.