We are proposing a novel approach to enable rechargeable lithium metal anode batteries. The scientific merit of our approach is based on the effect of electric field manipulation in the vicinity of the lithium metal on the electrodeposition of lithium metal. We demonstrate how the spatial gradient of the electric field in the cell can be controlled and its effect on the electrodeposition of lithium metal during charging is studied. More than 200 cycles at C-rate in Li-metal- LTO cells with commercial electrolyte is achieved.

For the first time we show that it is possible to control the electric field inside the battery cell with addition of a porous metallic layer in the middle of the cell. The metallic layer significantly reduces the spatial gradient of the electric field, if any shorts reaches this layer. We will discuss how different metallic materials affect the dendrite destiny. Specifically, we show how an aluminum based layer can react with a lithium dendrite, consumes the available energy, and eventually burns out the lithium dendrite, such that the cell can keep functioning as a fresh cell with no indications of a short in its past cycling. Numerical and theoretical studies accompany our experiments to shed life on this interesting physical observation. The approach may give us an understanding of unprecedented methods to enable safe rechargeable lithium metal batteries.