Li-ion batteries with high energy densities have been an enabling technology for numerous industries from personal electronics to electric vehicles. However, in order to achieve high energy densities, thick electrodes are often used, which hinder the ability to fast-charge. This is due to the difficulty of transporting Li into the depth of the electrode, as shown in the conventional electrode schematic. This leads to an innate tradeoff between energy density and charge rate.

To overcome these tradeoffs, we have developed a laser patterning process to precisely manufacture pore channels into graphite anodes for Li-ion batteries, shown as the Highly Ordered Laser-Patterned Electrode (HOLE) in the schematic. The pore channels facilitate rapid transport of Li-ions into the bulk electrode.

Industrially relevant pouch cell batteries, manufactured at the UM Battery Lab using the HOLE design, show capacity retention that exceeds both the United States Department of Energy and Advanced Battery Consortium goals for fast-charging batteries during fast-charge cycling, as shown in the plot to the right. This performance has been validated by DOE National Labs (Sandia and Argonne).