Stratus nearing commercialization of its cathode active materials for Li-ion batteries

Stratus Materials, a company focused on the development and commercialization of advanced cathode active materials (CAMs) for lithium-ion batteries, announced new updates on the performance and value of its next-generation LXMO CAMs, its sampling efforts with customers and partners in the electric vehicle (EV) supply chain, and its future scaling plans.

Earlier this year, the company announced it was producing its proprietary LXMO cathode active material at an early pilot scale. Since then, the team has made significant progress, including:

LXMO performance
Status released a new paper titled, “Modified Lithium-Rich/Manganese Rich Cathode Active Materials at Stratus Materials: The Performance and Benefits of LXMO,” which provides a quantitative summary of the unique and valuable combination of performance, safety, and cost that LXMO CAMs can deliver to the lithium-ion battery industry.

This document shows how LXMO, when implemented in traditional full cells, can deliver battery performance that meets or exceeds cells containing high-nickel NMC CAMs, while providing the high safety and low cost per unit energy of LFP CAMs.

LXMO sampling
In February, Stratus began sampling its LXMO materials to a set of potential customers and partners in the EV industry. These initial sampling efforts have validated the company’s internal testing results and will be expanding in the coming quarters.

LXMO scaling
Stratus is currently producing its LXMO CAMs at a rate of over one ton per year on its Pre-Pilot line in Pittsburgh. To increase production capacity and to demonstrate that LXMO can be produced effectively at higher volumes, the company has begun work on a 30 ton per year Pilot line that will be operational in mid-2024.

This new Pilot line will allow Stratus to expand the scope of its testing and sampling efforts, which will include deploying its materials into large-scale battery packs and electric vehicles.

“The pace of progress at Stratus has been exceptional, and we are excited about this next step towards full commercialization,” says Jay Whitacre, CEO and CTO of Stratus. “Our next-generation CAM materials will have a dramatic and positive impact on the EV industry in the coming years and we look forward to continuing this momentum.”