Fu Zhou¹, Lixin Wang¹, Santo Iaconetti¹, Yuehui Yin², Bo Peng², Yuan Yuan² and Derek Johnson¹

1. A123 Systems, 200 West Street, Waltham, MA 02451
2. Wanxiang A123 System Asia Co., Ltd, No. 118 Jianshe No. 2 Road , Xiaoshan District, Hangzhou 311215, China PRC

Lithium ion batteries have already dominated the portable electronics market and are now penetrating into the electrified vehicle market with at a rapid pace. In order to accelerate the adoption of electrified vehicles, increasing cruise range before recharging is a necessity, requiring ever-increasing energy density from the lithium ion battery systems.

For the delivery of high energy density, new generation of cathode materials are under development. Among all the candidates, high Ni layered oxide provides the best chance of fulfilling all the challenging demands. A123 Systems, LLC is now working hard to integrate the high Ni layered oxide into next generation products capable of delivering ≥ 250 Wh/kg specific energy and ≥ 600 Wh/L energy density with favorable cycle/calendar life and safety performances.

A123 Systems, LLC is well known as a supplier of high power lithium ion batteries using lithium iron phosphate.  This paper reviews A123 strategy to expand its focus to also provide safe, high energy batteries, positioned for the EV market.