Energy density is a critical figure of merit for batteries that indicates how much energy can be stored in a given mass (gravimetric energy density) or volume (volumetric energy density). Higher energy density means more energy can be packed into a lighter or smaller battery, which is especially important for applications like electric vehicles (longer range without adding much weight) or portable electronics (long run-time without a bulky battery). Energy density is determined by cell chemistry and design: lithium-ion batteries are among the highest energy density rechargeable technologies currently, whereas something like lead-acid has much lower energy density. Within lithium-ion, chemistries like high-nickel NMC or silicon-anode variants increase energy density.
NOVONIX works on increasing energy density through materials R&D. For instance, NOVONIX explores higher-capacity anodes (like silicon composites) and high-voltage or higher-capacity cathodes (like nickel-rich cathodes or new materials), which can raise volumetric and / or gravemetric energy density. They also test cells under real-world conditions to ensure that gains in energy density don’t come with unacceptable trade-offs (like drastically reduced cycle life or safety issues)..
