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Introduction to Energy Storage Sub-program of National Science and TechnologyProgram-Energy in Taiwan

Shiang-Lin Liu and Ru-Shi Liu*Department of Chemistry, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan

(Received: Jun. 2, 2012; Accepted: Jun. 27, 2012; Published Online: Aug. 9, 2012; DOI: 10.1002/jccs.201200318)

The Energy Storage Sub-program was selected as one of the programs of the National Science and Tech-

nology Program-Energy (NSTPE) following several resolutions: resolutions from meetings held by the

Guiding Squad of Energy Policy and Technology Development and the Executive Yuan in Taiwan, 15

master plans on energy technology development drafted during the National Industrial Technology Meet-

ing in November 2007, and the resolution passed during the 23rd Technology Meeting of the Executive

Yuan in December 2007. The aims of the Energy Storage Sub-program are as follows: (1) reduce the cost

of production and develop high-performance lithium ion battery, (2) construct an industry alliance among

companies involved in the production of lithium-ion batteries, (3) establish platforms for the evaluation,

testing, and certification of energy storage technology and (4) develop key techniques for next-generation

supercapacitors while minimizing cost.

Keywords: Energy storage; Li-ion battery; Supercapacitor.

PROGRAM BACKGROUND

The Taiwanese government’s “green energy policy”

requires the use of next-generation electrical storage com-

ponents systems in developing solar, wind power and elec-

trical vehicles. Thus, a better energy storage system is

needed to facilitate the development of electrical vehicles,

complete the battery industrial chain, and build a better

smart grid system in Taiwan.

Storage systems made from materials, batteries and

battery packs have substantial uses in Taiwan. Companies

such as Tatung Fine Chemical Com., Formosa Park and

Acer macro Seto produce and sell lithium iron phosphate

cathode materials. Formosa Plastics Co. not only produces

lithium salts (LiPF6), but also partners with Industrial

Technology Research Institute (ITRI) to produce lithium

battery electrolytes. China Steel Co. has concentrated on

the production of anode materials for many years. Thus,

Taiwan has the potential to create a battery materials indus-

try that uses specialty chemicals, and can eventually be-

come one of the world’s best producers. Delta Power Co.

and the New S&P Co. are the world’s largest power suppli-

ers, companies involved in 3C Li-ion battery module pro-

duction can become the largest manufacturers of electric

car components. E-one Moli Energy Corp. (TCC), Amita

Tech Co. (Delta) and PIHSIANG Co. have provided lith-

ium batteries to manufacturers of electric cars, including

BMW, Ford, Tesla, and Fisker Car Co. In the meantime,

AUO, LiteOn, and the UMC Group are trying to incorpo-

rate the production of electricity storage systems with their

renewable energy business. In order to promote lithium

battery technology, and the use of electric cars and renew-

able energy storage systems in Taiwan, we must assist do-

mestic manufacturers of power lithium-ion batteries, create

industry clusters specializing in this technology, and pro-

mote energy investment.

Although Japan has been the global market leader in

lithium battery technology, there are still concerns in bat-

tery security. Chinese batteries are cheaper but worse in

terms of performance. As a result, we need to establish an

industry that produces its own materials in order to domi-

nate the development of lithium battery production. Ad-

vancements in security and technical materials and aid

from international agencies will allow us to join the global

market. Through this program, we seek to establish large-

scale production of power batteries for electric vehicles us-

ing high security and high-energy materials, and eventually

compete with Europe, the United States and China.

INTERNATIONAL TRENDS OF DEVELOPEMENT

Since the transport energy consumption account

J. Chin. Chem. Soc. 2012, 59, 1173-1180 © 2012 The Chemical Society Located in Taipei & Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim 1173

JOURNAL OF THE CHINESE

Introduction CHEMICAL SOCIETY

Special Issue for the Electrical Energy Storage and Conversion

Energy Storage Sub-program of National Science and Technology Program-Energy in Taiwan

* Corresponding author. Tel: +886-2-3366-1169; E-mail: [email protected]

around 1/4 of the total energy use in the world, the develop-

ment of electric vehicles has play an important role in re-

ducing the CO2 emission in transportation. Toyota Motor

Corporation has adopted lithium batteries into its Plug-in

Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV) and has started selling

Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEV). Fig. 1 presents the devel-

opment potential of different electric cars by Tropical

Storm Risk (TSR) while Fig. 2 shows the global automo-

tive battery market forecast made by IIT (Japan). From Fig.

1 and 2, we could found the production of global electric

vehicles include HEV, battery electric vehicles (BEV) and

PHEVs would grow up soon. Furthermore, all the electric

vehicles need a better energy storage system.

The 311 (2011) earthquake in Japan caused people to

realize the need for electricity storage systems in providing

power supply to the disaster area, and the importance of

uninterruptible power systems in preventing blackouts

from occurring without warning. Sony Co. has launched

electricity storage systems running on lithium batteries

with a ten-year service life. The development of longer-

lasting lithium batteries to provide electricity storage sys-

tems with renewable energy is a sound business opportu-

nity, Fig. 3 shows samples of electrical storage systems

with renewable energy that operate on lithium batteries.

New energy storage technologies are classified into

flow battery, NaS battery, compressed air, and supercon-

ducting magnetic energy. However, the cost of electricity

storage is still too much. Fig. 4 shows the costs involved in

using lithium batteries for electrical storage to be the most

reasonable.

DEVELOPMENTS OF “ENERGY STORAGE”

TECHNOLOGY AND CHARACTERISTICS OF

THE INDUSTRIAL CLUSTERS IN TAIWAN

We expect to gain cooperation from domestic R&D

institutions in developing high-security and high-power

lithium batteries for the rechargeable electrical compo-

nents and systems technology. Our goal is to create a com-

mon vision within the industry and cross-strait develop-

ment opportunities. With the aid of international academic

and research institutions, and the creation of industrial alli-

ances and a large-scale R&D industry, we will promote

common industry standards and division of labor that

1174 www.jccs.wiley-vch.de © 2012 The Chemical Society Located in Taipei & Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim J. Chin. Chem. Soc. 2012, 59, 1173-1180

Introduction Liu and Liu

Fig. 1. Demand and market share projections of differ-

ent electric cars by Tropical Storm Risk (TSR).

Fig. 2. Forecast by IIT (Japan) of the future global

market for super-batteries.

Fig. 3. Energy storage systems manufactured by Chiao

Shin and Sony Co.

Fig. 4. Cost comparison of various energy storage

technologies (from Electricity Storage Associ-

ation).

would help manufacturers formulate development strate-

gies and guide the integration of the domestic industry. The

next generation of storage power components and systems

technology will enhance the production and technical ca-

pacity of domestic manufacturers thereby increasing the

competitiveness of our power lithium battery and electric

car industries.

After receiving research and development support,

UL Taiwan has established centers for safety testing and

standards development of power batteries. UL Taiwan has

become a full member of the UL international Standards

Technical Panel (STP). The following functions is included

in UL Taiwan: (a) Large-scale development of power lith-

ium batteries that are long-lasting and safe, modules and

materials technology that utilize both high-security mate-

rial to terminate the large differences among oligomers

(self-terminated oligomers with hyper of branched archi-

tecture or STOBA) and technical features that will aid do-

mestic R&D on power lithium batteries, thus enabling the

government to run electric vehicle testing. UL Taiwan will

assist the large-scale development of power lithium batter-

ies, and achieve immediate certification in order to facili-

tate the creation of a depot for high-security, high-power

and long-lasting lithium batteries, enabling the country to

join the international supply chain. (b) Promotion of cross-

strait collaboration in high-security materials technology,

particularly, in developing power lithium batteries and

electric vehicles, and joint development of module stan-

dards for the Greater China. This would facilitate entry into

mainland China and Southeast Asia, and create new oppor-

tunities for the electric vehicle and power lithium battery

industries in Taiwan.

The electrical storage system allows factories, build-

ings, schools, and other establishments to store electrical

energy, for use during peak electricity demand. An effec-

tive storage system reduces the need for the Taiwan Power

Company to generate standby power, thus lessening CO2

emissions.

PROGRAM VISION AND GOALS

NSTPE’s energy storage sub-program will be imple-

mented by establishing a 40 Ah large-scale lithium-ion bat-

tery technology. First, we plan to develop new positive and

negative materials for lithium batteries, and improve the

density of battery energy and the charge-discharge cycle.

Second, we seek to reduce production costs and enhance

battery security. Third, we will develop new electrolyte ad-

ditives to enhance the stability and security of batteries at

high temperature, therefore, yielding better battery perfor-

mance and lower cost. Fig. 5 shows the annual performance

goals of NSTPE’s energy storage sub-program s for 2011-

2013.

Fig. 6 shows the distribution of work in energy stor-

age technology research. Novel cathode and anode materi-

als, efficient electrolyte, and electrode interface technology

will be developed in the Academy of Sciences, while hy-

brid electric vehicles running on 40 Ah large power lithium

batteries will be manufactured in ITRI. The scope of this

program is as follows:

1. Solve the problem of overheating and explosion in

order to overcome ultra-high temperature from using solar

power systems.

2. Increase the cycle life of batteries to 4~5 times

more than that of lead-acid batteries.

3. Reduce volume capacity density.

J. Chin. Chem. Soc. 2012, 59, 1173-1180 © 2012 The Chemical Society Located in Taipei & Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim www.jccs.wiley-vch.de 1175


Energy Storage Sub-program of NSTPE CHEMICAL SOCIETY

Fig. 6. Energy storage team at NSTPE.

Fig. 5. The goals of the NSTPE’s energy storage sub-

program.

4. Enhance discharge power.

PROGRAM OUTCOMES

Completion of the project on high-security and large

40 Ah power lithium battery

Testing of the electrical characteristics of the 40 Ah

battery showed that the latter had an energy density of 121

Wh kg-1, a power density of 1,354 W kg-1, an internal resis-

tance of 0.6 mOhm, and a continuous discharge capacity of

8 C. At 8 C, up to 87% of the battery capacity could be dis-

charged. Cycle testing was also conducted at room temper-

ature using a 1 C current and 80% Depth of Discharge

(DOD), 750 cycles was recorded. These results are shown

in Fig. 7.

40 Ah battery safety and reliability testing

After safety and reliability testing, the 40 Ah battery

passed the UN38.3 and IEC62260-2 testing standards for

mechanical shock, vibration, crush, nail penetration, over-

charge, external short-circuit, and hot box. The 40 Ah bat-

tery exhibited sound safety/reliability characteristics, as

shown in Fig. 8.

40 Ah power battery test of acupuncture

After the 40 Ah power battery was activated and

charged, it underwent a 10 mm s-1 nail puncture test with a

3 mm outer diameter probe. During the penetration pro-

cess, a lithium power battery containing nitrogen-based

precursor additive experienced an internal short circuit and

the reaction temperature reached 400 °C. This result was

similar to those in previous nail penetration tests on power

batteries wherein only a large amount of smoke was gener-

ated during actual penetration, with no signs of explosive

combustion. This outcome confirms that the addition of the

safety additive to the large 40 Ah power battery effectively

suppressed the risk of combustion and explosion inside the

battery even when the power battery was at a high charge

and temperature. Fig. 9 and 10 show the test patterns of ni-

trogen-containing precursor security additives in 40 Ah

battery power acupuncture.

Analysis of reactions between additives, and of elec-

trolytes in electrolyte additives

We used NMR, XPS and CV to analyze the bond

breaking reaction of commercial additive VTC (vinylene

trithiocarbonate) with different electrolyte systems (EC-

based and PC-based electrolyte). The integrated results are

shown in Fig. 11.



Fig. 8. Results of safety and reliability test on a 40 Ah

battery. This data is collected from Dr. Tsung-

Tsan Su of Material and Chemical Research

Laboratories, ITRI.

Fig. 7. Results of cycle-life test of 40 Ah batteries at

room temperature (1 C/1 C, 80% DOD) by the

Industrial Technology Research Institute of

Taiwan. This data is collected from Dr.

Tsung-Tsan Su of Material and Chemical Re-

search Laboratories, ITRI.

Fig. 9. Test results pattern of nitrogen-containing pre-

cursor security additives 40 Ah battery power

acupuncture (Acupuncture conditions: 3.0 mm,

10 mm s-1, acupuncture speed). This data is col-

lected from Dr. Tsung-Tsan Su of Material and

Chemical Research Laboratories, ITRI.

Research on positive and negative material interface

In applying the surface enhanced Raman spectros-

copy (SERS) technique in observing the solid electrolyte

interface (SEI), the Raman spectra result of the cycled and

SEI formed anode material Mesocarbon Microbeads

(MCMB) and the signals were found to be unclear. How-

ever, after spraying homemade Au-NPs amounting to

30~40 nm on the surface of the MCMB, the observed sig-

nals were enhanced by up to five times and the previously

unclear peak also became obvious. This proves that Au-

NPs have the ability to enhance the surface signal.

High ionic conductivity electrolyte

Poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), polyethylene oxide poly-

mer electrolytes are the most extensively studied among

polymer electrolytes with good mechanical properties,

thermal stability and interfacial stability. The present study

used PEO-based polymer and the commercially available

Polypropylene (PP) membrane-bound, adding liquid elec-

trolyte prepared with PP/P (EO-co-PO) gel polyelectrolyte

(GPE). The gel electrolyte revealed high ionic conductivity

(~ 10 S cm-1), high electrochemical stability window (~ 5.2

V), and high charge and discharge capacitance values (see

Fig. 12), in fact, reaching 150 mAh g-1 (Li/GPE/LiFePO4 at

0.1 C, 2.5 ~ 4.0 V), 326 mAh g-1 (Li/GPE/MGP, 0 ~ 2.0 V).

Electrode surface modification

The technology is concerned with forming lithium/

lithium alloy oxide layers on the cathodes. Both dry and

wet processes have been developed and directly applied on

coated electrode plates. This technique is well-suited to cell

manufacturers. The modification formed surface layers

with inter-necked dense nanograins, while the bulk materi-

als underneath remained unchanged. The layer can effec-

tively suppress lattice distortions and transition metal dis-

solution, as well as, enhance the cathode performances, as a

result of protective layers that also exhibit ionic and elec-

tronic conductivity. In the dry plasma process, the low

melting temperature components of the electrodes may

reflow (Fig. 13 (a)) and provide even better protection.1

The surface modified cathodes are able to rotate under vari-

ous rates ranging from 0.2 C to 45 C, and achieve higher ca-

pacity and cycle life. For example, LiMn2O4 cathodes

treated by the invented method exhibited surface layers,

which suppress Jahn-Teller distortion and lift the over-dis-

charge (4~2 V) and high rate (4 C) capacity (Fig. 13 (b)).1

Under such a condition, the treated cathode shows capacity

retention as high as 97%, whereas the untreated cathode

only showed 82% capacity retention after 20 cycles. The

results can be attributed to the dense and well-covered

modification layers which ease the Jahn-Teller distortion

and provide a greater potential window. This interface

layer likewise exhibited excellent ionic and electronic con-




Fig. 10. (a) Needle test, (b) the needle after the testing

process and (c) acupuncture test. Nitrogen

precursor safe additive power battery acu-

puncture test. This data is collected from Dr.

Tsung-Tsan Su of Material and Chemical Re-

search Laboratories, ITRI.

Fig. 11. Reaction mechanisms of VTC in (a) EC-based

and (b) PC-based electrolytes. This data is col-

lected from Prof. Chia-Chin Chang of Na-

tional University of Tainan.

Fig. 12. Constant current charge and discharge test of

the gel electrolyte conducted at room tempera-

ture, at the positive electrode of lithium iron

phosphate and lithium metal anode, to form a

sandwich structure device, application of dif-

ferent charge and discharge rates on the liquid

electrolyte soaked in 1 M of LiPF6 in the

EC/DMC/DEC (1:1:1 v/v/v). This data is col-

lected from Prof. Ping-Lin Kuo of National

Cheng Kung University.

ductivity, which do not hinder ion intercalation, and uni-

formly distributed the surface charges at high rates. Thus,

the treated cathodes showed high capacity and stability

under large potential window and high cycling rates.

In-operando observation of the lithium-ion batteries

by X-ray transmission microscopy

We are the world’s first group success in accomplish-

ing in-operando transmission X-ray microscopy analysis

on the evolution of interior microstructure of electrode ac-

tive materials of Li-ion batteries during charge/discharge.

The results are showed in Fig. 14 and 15.

Novel composite electrode materials development

A novel composite of KOH activated mesophase

pitch (aMP) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) showed out-

standing performance as electrodes for electric double-

layer formation in 2 M H2SO4. The aMP powder is highly

porous and KOH activation may produce pores that are

populated with graphitic edges. With particle milling, the

pore diffusion resistance of the aMP electrode decreased

significantly because of the elimination of a hindered diffu-

sion mode for the particle interior. Addition of CNT pro-

vided inter-particle spacing and a bridging media for the

milled aMP, as well as, reduced the Warburg diffusion and

electrical resistances. With a small potential widow of 1 V,

the resulting symmetric cells delivered an energy level of

8.2 Wh kg-1 at a high power of 10,000 W kg-1. The results

are presented in Fig. 16.2

Integrating renewable nano-scale simulation of unit-

ized regenerative solid oxide fuel cell electrolyte

Nano-scale analysis has been successfully carried out

on the Unitized Regenerative Solid Oxide Fuel Cell

(URSOFC) electrode, which has been rarely seen in litera-

ture. Electrode performance of LSM type material for

URSOFC at different operation temperatures can be pre-

dicted by our model, as shown in Fig. 17 (a). Simulation re-

sults of URSOFC single cell/stacks are very close to real

URSOFC designs because of the following: (1) there was

no geometry and size simplification done on our URSOFC

single cell/stack model, and (2) all the important physical

characteristics of our model were considered through cou-

pling in corresponding governing equations. Our simula-

tion results demonstrate various detailed distributions of



Fig. 13. (a) Mechanism of the novel surface treatment

technique and (b) over discharge (4~2 V) and

high rate (4 C) capacity for untreated and

treated samples. This data is collected from

Prof. Kuo-Feng Chiu of Feng Chia University.

Reproduced with permission from J. Electro-

chem. Soc. 2011, 158(3), A262. Copyright

2011, The Electrochemical Society.1

Fig. 14. Establishment of spot X-ray transmission mi-

croscopy (TEM) observation of the lithium

ion motion device. This data is collected from

Prof. Nae-Lih Wu of National Taiwan Univer-

sity.

Fig. 16. (a) Development of novel composite electrode

materials and (b) testing results. This data is

collected from Prof. Hsi-sheng Teng of Na-

tional Cheng Kung University. Reproduced by

permission of The Royal Society of Chemis-

try.2

Fig. 15. (a) Sn particle, (b) SnSb particle, and (c) SnO

particle charge and discharge mode. This data

is collected from Prof. Nae-Lih Wu of Na-

tional Taiwan University.

considered physics at different design or operation condi-

tions. Fig. 17 (b) shows water vapor distribution inside a

real-size 3D URSOFC cell.

The current status of industrial cooperation

(1) On-going collaboration with Molicel Co., Ltd. to

produce 40 Ah lithium batteries and a module that will im-

prove batteries/electrical modules and security validation

of the STOBA material application.

(2) Evaluation of STOBA material for product evalu-

ation with Amita Technologies, Inc.

(3) Importing of lithium-iron battery residual power

through Wei Feng Electronics Co., for the 16-string 48 V

battery module management system.

(4) Hong Hu Co. to assist in extracting isolation

membrane resin, and provide early direction for lithium

battery separator film process technology. The company

will likewise assist in using isolation membrane resin in

screening, and film pore and functional tests, thereby pro-

ducing technical basis for the expected initial investment of

USD 3.3 million.

(5) Cooperation with Taiwan Hopax Chemicals Co.

in developing new electrolytes for lithium-ion batteries, us-

ing a budget of 158 thousand USD for three years.

Enhance international cooperation

The international cooperation behind the energy stor-

age sub-program is described below, and illustrated in Fig.

18.

(1) Cooperation with Li-Tec, Germany to evaluate

high safety and security STOBA battery technology.

(2) Cooperation with Nissan Chemical Co. (Japan)

regarding the use of new binder in anode material. This in-

cludes developing high-volume silicon carbon and verifi-

cation of the new binder, fast charging of the anode mate-

rial to accelerate high-volume silicon carbon, and rapid

charging of the anode material.

(3) Collaboration with University of Cincinnati to

predict battery life and battery aging behavior, actual test

data analysis of batteries using the Kalman filter has been

completed, and this was proven effective in predicting

battery life.

(4) Work with the French institute, IMN-CNRS, re-

garding functional nanomaterial properties. Another objec-

tive is to investigate the positive/negative properties of lith-

ium batteries, electrolyte additives or heat barrier layer

(HRL), and a variety of functional nanomaterials in elec-

trochemical reaction, thus forming the surface characteris-

tics of the study. Additionally, gain a more in-depth under-

standing of materials in electrochemical reaction, failure

analysis, improved materials, and accelerate the develop-

ment of power lithium battery nanomaterials.

(5) Collection of high-power board, and development

of low-temperature surface coating technology with the

United States Air Force which started in 2010 and contin-

ues up to the present.

CONCLUSIONS

The development of energy storage technology has

matured and sustained global consensus owing to its ability

to save energy and reduce carbon emissions. Energy stor-

age technology is vital to the development of photovoltaic,

wind power, electric vehicles and other energy industries.

Among the electricity storage systems developed from var-

ious industrial materials, battery production is considered

most significant. The energy storage sub-program of

NSTPE will continue to actively promote the development

of related technologies, and strengthen the cooperation and

power among domestic R&D teams, in order to outpace

other countries and realize the development of energy




Fig. 17. (a) Diffusivity of oxygen ions inside URSOFC

LSM electrode at different operation tempera-

tures and (b) water vapor distribution inside a

real-size 3D URSOFC. This data is collected

from Prof. Shih-Hung Chan of Yuan Ze Uni-

versity.

Fig. 18. International cooperation behind the energy

storage sub-program.

storage industry clusters in Taiwan.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We gratefully acknowledge the financial support

from the National Science Council of Taiwan (NSC 100-

3113-P-002-011). We likewise extend our gratitude to team

leaders that participated in the program, namely: Dr. Tsung-

Tsan Su of Material and Chemical Research Laboratories,

ITRI, Prof. Chia-Chin Chang of National University of

Tainan, Prof. Bing-Joe Hwang of National Taiwan Univer-

sity of Science and Technology, Prof. Ping-Lin Kuo of Na-

tional Cheng Kung University, Prof. Kuo-Feng Chiu of

Feng Chia University, Prof. Nae-Lih Wu of National Tai-

wan University, Prof. Hsi-sheng Teng of National Cheng

Kung University, and Prof. Shih-Hung Chan of Yuan Ze

University.

REFERENCES

1. Chen, C. C.; Chiu, K.-F.; Lin, K. M.; Lin, H. C.; Yang, C.-R.;

Wang, F. M. J. Electrochem. Soc. 2011, 158(3), A262.

2. Huang, C.-W.; Hsieh, C.-T.; Kuo, P.-L.; Teng, H. J. Mater.

Chem. 2012, 22, 7314.



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