China-based Sunrise New Energy, a manufacturer of anode material, has announced that its subsidiary, Sunrise (Guizhou) New Energy Materials, has received preliminary approval from the National Intellectual Property Office for two separate patents related to anode materials for sodium-ion batteries.

Sodium-ion batteries use hard carbon anodes, but low specific capacity, compactness, and expansion limitations plague these materials. Moreover, rate capability varies owing to differences in material electronic conductivity, the company said. The two patents:

• “Preparation Method of Metal Sulfide-Doped Hard Carbon Composite Material” focuses on the preparation method for a metal sulfide-doped hard carbon composite material that enhances the specific capacity and power performance of hard carbon.
• “Fiber-Structured Titanium-Doped Amorphous Carbon Coated Silver Hard Carbon Composite Material and the Preparation Method” introduces a fiber-structured titanium-doped amorphous carbon coated silver hard carbon composite material and its preparation method. The hard carbon composite material exhibits a core-shell structure, with the inner core composed of silver-doped hard carbon material and the outer shell composed of titanium-doped amorphous carbon. This design aims to enhance the initial efficiency, cycling performance and rate capability of the anode materials.

“We have been able to secure domestic and international clients such as CATL, BYD, Narada Power and Hithium Energy, specializing in EV and energy storage batteries. Furthermore, we have contributed as a principal drafting entity to the national battery industry standard policy, Technical Specifications for the Production Process of Artificial Graphite Anode Materials,” said Haiping Hu, Chairman of Sunrise New Energy.

Source: Green Car Congress