Lyten lithium-sulfur batteries to power Chrysler’s Halcyon Concept car – pv magazine USA

March 11, 2024 Jerusha Kamoji

The Chrysler Halcyon concept, expected to debut in 2025, will be powered by lithium-sulphur battery technology from Lyten, a California-based manufacturer.

Lyten’s 800V lithium-sulfur batteries contain Lyten’s 3D graphene, a material that eliminates the need for nickel, cobalt or manganese in the battery cell. This compound is created by converting greenhouse gases into solid carbon and hydrogen gas. Lyten says the hydrogen gas is recycled as clean fuel while the carbon is separated and formed into a three-dimensional substance called graphene. The battery maker refers to graphene as a core material because of its versatility. Graphene atoms can be designed to bond to various elements on the periodic table, reducing the risk of fuel leakage while improving energy density, flexibility and lightness, among other variables.

Lyten said its 800V lithium-sulfur batteries offer energy densities that range between 3000 Wh/kg and 600 Wh/kg. That’s about twice the energy density of batteries made from lithium-ion chemistries, including lithium-ion phosphate and lithium-ion-nickel-manganese-cobalt, which have energy densities that range from 100 Wh/kg and 400Wh/kg, depending on Clean Energy Institute at the University of Washington.

Lyten will develop its batteries will reduce the weight of 170 kg compared to applications that use lithium-ion batteries due to the lightness of the product chemistry of 800 V. Research published in Stanford Advanced Materials It says that the lighter nature of sulfur reduces the overall weight of the vehicle, thereby increasing efficiency.

Designing cathodes without nickel, cobalt, and manganese and anodes without graphite also has social, logistical, and economic benefits. Lyten does not need to rely on finding cobalt, a material that continues to raise concerns about environmental damage and human rights abuses.. The manufacturer’s graphene development process cuts the miles from resource extraction to final assembly from 50,000 to 3,000, the company reports, as all materials are sourced and manufactured in the United States.

“We believe our lithium-sulfur batteries represent the future battery platform for electric vehicles, delivered through local supply chains and manufactured in the United States, Europe, and ultimately around the world,” said Dan Cook, CEO and co-founder of Lyten . “We have been able to dramatically accelerate the lithium-sulfur development timeline through the discovery and commercialization of our graphene invention.”

In June 2023, Lyten opened its first lithium-sulfur production facility in San Jose, California. The campus has a Graphene Laboratory and an automated lithium-sulfur production line that produces 200,000 cells annually.

Lyten is working towards delivering commercial cells to non-EV consumers and governments throughout this year. The company is developing its graphene materials to develop lighter solutions that charge faster and offer increased conductivity, better resistance and permeability. Lyten is testing how to restore recycled materials to raw materials while replacing non-recyclable polymers and composites with Graphene Polyethylene. Lyten says this substance offers more than 40% more stiffness and more than 22% more flexibility.

The company reports that it has raised more than $410 million in funding to date, receiving investments from corporations including automotive conglomerate Stellantis, FedEx, and national products company Honeywell.