Development of Coal-Derived Graphite for Lithium-Ion Batteries

Graphite is one of many critical minerals that are utilized in lithium-ion batteries. The requirements for domestic sourcing of critical minerals used in Li-ion batteries as outlined in the Inflation Reduction Act have generated interest in exploring alternative production methods and feedstocks for critical minerals. An alternative feedstock for the production of graphite that is being evaluated is coal. Coal is an excellent candidate as a feedstock due to its abundance in the United States and its chemical structure. In this poster, the characterization and electrochemical performance of multiple coal-derived graphites will be presented. A focus will be put on linking electrochemical performance to the microstructure of each material. Electrochemical performance data such as initial capacity loss, gravimetric capacity and columbic efficiency will be presented for both coin and pouch cells. The application of the Multi-Species, Multi-Reaction model on coal-derived graphite will also be presented.