Tech startup: I really do make mobile phones!

Chapter 36 The Birth of the Battery

Xu Mingyuan strode out of the office and found Li Gong's temporary deputy after Li Gong changed jobs.

"Xiao Zhao! In five minutes, have all core members come to the conference room to review the solid-state battery cathode material we recently verified, and see if we've overlooked anything!"

The core members who had been slacking off all looked at Xu Mingyuan, wondering why he had suddenly become so proactive.

Could it be that this struggling company is on the verge of collapse?

However, this is a good thing for most people, as the core team members are all talents that Xu Mingyuan had worked hard to recruit.

The reason everyone was willing to come was not only because of the salary, but also because he was a student of Richard Harding, a leading figure in the field of solid-state batteries, and had worked at Bell Labs. Everyone hoped that he could achieve something.

Xu Mingyuan ignored their thoughts and gave instructions to his secretary, Xiao Zhang.

"Xiao Zhang! I sent you the materials via MSN. Print out a few copies and bring them over; I need to lead everyone in a debriefing!"

"Yes, Mr. Xu! I'll deliver it to the conference room shortly!"

Secretary Zhang quickly put down her coffee and went to find MSN on the computer desktop to look for information.

Xu Mingyuan and his core team got busy, determined to find the "gold" that BTD valued in order to seize the initiative in subsequent negotiations.

Although it was definitely a wasted effort, it was all because Secretary Zhang sent the wrong battery information that Xu Mingyuan was supposed to give to Professor Jiang!
Meanwhile, the "culprit" who caused all this—Xiao Zhang—was completely unaware of the situation.

"Whoo~"

While waiting for the photocopier to print, she took a small sip of her coffee, exuding a sophisticated and bourgeois charm.

On the third floor, Xu Mingyuan is leading everyone to "find gold in poop," while on the fourth floor, Chen Mo is "carving flowers on poop."

The materials were prepared in one morning, mainly the core materials, including:

Electrolytic medium transfer material -- lithium metal polymer.

Composite electrode material – porous graphene + metal-organic compound.

Catalysts that maintain the gaseous state of lithium ions – boron-based polymers.

Electrode surface coating material – lithium fluoride.

The reason it's described as "carving flowers on excrement" is because Chen Mo discovered something embarrassing.

Conventional electrode materials cannot confine gaseous ions, so the proposed solution is to synthesize porous graphene-metal-organic framework (MOF) composite electrodes.

To develop MOF composite electrodes, micron-level injection molding equipment is required.

This remote battery lab simply doesn't have such high-precision injection molding equipment!

Therefore, Chen Mo could only use the crude method of laser slicing machine + chemical etching to produce a MOF composite electrode frame that met the system data requirements, but which was as rough as excrement and somewhat unsightly.

However, Xu Mingyuan's "shit" really had no "gold" in it, while Chen Mo's "shit"-like thing was indeed made of "gold".

Then, before encapsulation, Chen Mo began to "carve on the shit," filling the MOF composite electrode framework with lithium polymer as a transfer medium.

Before the final encapsulation step, add a catalyst, and you're all set.
The birth of the first gaseous lithium battery in human energy history was anything but legendary.

Chen Mo wasn't the type to take credit for others' work. This high-tech gaseous lithium battery was all thanks to the system; at most, he had just replicated the research and development process. There was nothing to be excited about.

However, just like the first sponge to rise from the Cambrian seabed, the first seed to break through a crack in the rock, and the first flame to be born in the hands of primitive humans.

On this ordinary morning, in a laboratory filled with the smells of burnt lithium powder and faint floral water, humanity finally grasped the crude key to unlocking a new era of energy.

At this time, it was unremarkable in appearance, unknown in reputation, and even somewhat rough, but it was destined to leave its own mark on the history of human energy.

Chen Mo was only a materials science student and knew nothing about industrial design. Therefore, the first prototype gaseous lithium battery he created was a disaster in the history of industrial aesthetics.

The burrs on the edges of the electrode frame of the laser slicer, when encapsulated, form small bulges.

Chemical etching leaves indentations of varying sizes in the center of the battery, much like the surface of the moon.

When lithium polymer is filled, some of it overflows during the encapsulation of the protective electrode gel and condenses into irregular lumps on the outer casing.

Even from a distance, you can tell that this battery has a considerable capacity.

But when Chen Mo put it into the testing equipment, the charging curve on the screen looked like it had been precisely calculated, with each peak hitting the node expected by the system solution without too much error.

This is not a standard 800mAh battery. Due to the precision limitations of the equipment, the energy density of a mobile phone battery is around 820mAh.

5 seconds…300mAh.

10 seconds…500mAh.

15 seconds…600mAh.

20 seconds…650mAh.

...

32 seconds…820mAh.

Battery charging efficiency works like this: it charges faster at the beginning, just like putting things into an empty cabinet—the emptier the cabinet, the easier it is to put things in.

After passing the charge and discharge performance test, this is a technically qualified battery, but it is definitely not a qualified industrial product.

However, this prototype battery is more than sufficient to verify the technological achievements of gaseous lithium ions.

In the battery lab, this gaseous lithium-ion battery was created from scratch in just 3 days, but it will take at least 4 more days before it can leave the lab.

Next, Chen Mo needs to conduct preliminary verification of the performance and safety of these gaseous lithium batteries. He will first produce a rough set of product performance data and safety test data, and then submit it for testing.

Chen Mo worked overtime to make 20 prototype gaseous lithium-ion batteries using the remaining materials.

It's worth mentioning that as Chen Mo's "carving on excrement" skills became more and more proficient, his gaseous lithium-ion batteries were no longer so unsightly.

By the time we had made the last dozen or so, we had become proficient in the filling materials and packaging process. The last few prototype batteries just looked a little rough at most.

The roughness wasn't Chen Mo's fault; it was simply that he was like a skilled cook without ingredients—the precision of the laboratory equipment was what it was!
It's worth noting that when Chen Mo was in college, he sold secondhand electronic products used by beautiful women on Taobao. Some of these products he assembled or repaired himself, so his craftsmanship was quite good.

Chen Mo spent a day preparing the materials, and in the end, he created a total of 21 gaseous lithium-ion battery prototypes.

Chen Mo took out the first, terrible prototype separately to avoid tarnishing his glorious image.

These remaining 20 prototype batteries all have their own uses.

Ten of them need to be sent for testing to obtain production licenses and safety certifications.

Five pieces, which will be used for full-temperature-range cycle testing—they need to be subjected to 2000 charge-discharge cycles in a professional freezer at -40 degrees Celsius and a constant-temperature chamber at 80 degrees Celsius to pass the test.

As for the last five pieces, they will be used for safety testing—five extreme destructive tests: puncture, compression, overcharge, over-discharge, and external short circuit.

Although, based on the technical solution of the unnamed black technology gaseous lithium battery provided by the system, this gaseous lithium battery has almost no safety issues.

Ultimately, Chen Mo needs to conduct experiments to verify this and eliminate the interference of human error.

If Chen Mo confidently submits the sample for testing, and a safety issue arises due to human error in his actual experiment, then the mass production of gaseous lithium batteries will face numerous setbacks.

(End of this chapter)