Li-S Energy (ASX: LIS) has substantially improved the performance of its lithium-sulfur battery technology at a Phase 3 automated pouch cell production facility in Victoria.

The company has manufactured full-size 10 ampere-hour (Ah) semi-solid-state cells delivering an energy density of 498 watt-hours (Wh) per kilogram on first discharge.

It has also recorded an industry-leading 456Wh/kg after formation cycling, with the cells continuing to cycle in ongoing testing.

Key breakthrough

Li-S chief technology officer Steve Rowlands said the results represented an important breakthrough for lithium-sulfur cell chemistry.

“Many research and development institutions and battery start-ups test performance on coin cells or very small pouch cells and publish energy density results from the cell’s first discharge, which is always significantly higher than its practical performance in the field,” he explained.

“We have taken a far more pragmatic and commercial approach, testing full-size 10Ah and 20Ah pouch cells produced on our automated production line and reporting performance after formation cycling, which more faithfully represents the true cell performance when delivered to a customer.”

Lighter battery

Li-S is targeting the rapidly growing drone, defence and electric aviation markets where weight is critical, with the higher energy density producing an even lighter battery that can improve the potential range, payload and operating time of products.

The cells delivering the company’s breakthrough performance incorporate Li-S’s third-generation cell chemistry, which has been continuously enhanced and developed since its launch in April 2023.

In September, Li-S delivered test cells to the first of its key partners to validate their performance for aerospace battery packs integrating Li-S cells and the Li-S-developed intelligent battery management system.

Target markets

Li-S chief executive officer Dr Lee Finniear hopes the new battery technology will sufficiently address the company’s target markets.

“Today’s results are an early vindication of our work and set a new benchmark in lithium-sulfur performance,” he said.

“Our partners in the aerospace, drone and defence industries have been clear that they need the highest possible energy density for their applications, plus reliable, high-quality cell production and a pathway to scale as demand grows [and] we believe [they] appreciate our industry-leading cell performance and our investment in the manufacturing infrastructure required to deliver the cells vital for their future success.”

Dr Finniear said Li-S’s research and engineering teams were focused on enhancing cell reliability, production accuracy and throughput, while the company’s battery integration team was working with current partners on battery management systems and battery pack design.