CAM: Chemical CSTR vs Mechanical DPMG vs One Pot process tec Cathode Active Materials (CAM): Process Technologies
Chemical CSTR versus Mechanical Dry Particle Micro-granulation (DPMG) versus One Pot process technology
The Nano One process is fundamentally different.
Cathode precursors are currently made by either "mechanical" grinding/mixing of feedstocks; or "chemical" hydrothermal/CSTR combining of feedstocks in temp/ph controlled water with specific chemical additives.
DPMG is a mechanical process, like earlier mechanical processes. The difference between state of the art 'mechanical' that's currently in use, and proposed DPMG - to use an extremely crude kitchen analogy - is that instead of throwing feedstocks in a blender, they flatten them over and over with a rolling pin, scraping them up between each pass. (Again, extremely crude analogy).
So, DPMG for cathode is befallen by many of the same pitfalls and limitations as currently-in-use 'mechanical' cathode manufacture (arguably, more, but some could be addressed through design and development). And the differentiation of DPMG from hydrothermal/CSTR is similar to that of currently-in-use 'mechanical' from CSTR.
Nano One may sound like hydrothermal/CSTR; but it fundamentally differs as well. Instead of reacting feedstocks in water into a precursor, with the help of chemical additives and temp/pressure; Nano One uses a known physical phenomenon to coax the feedstocks into joining into predictable molecular structures with ease prior to firing, without the need for chemical additives ($) or high temps/pressures ($). By executing a chemical/aqueous process while eliminating the consumable additives, waste streams, and energy requirements, it has the ability to excel over other approaches in every metric, i.e. 'chemical' CSTR+ quality at large scale, while doing so at less than 'mechanical' cost.
The DPMG-for-cathode core-shell concept, and exotic particle geometries, are interesting, but the problems they address are better solved by smaller, nano coated single crystal particles... which Nano One process can make in hours, instead of week(s) or not at all by other solutions.
I used some pretty broad brushes here; the full picture is very multifaceted and would take quite the character count to expound on blow-by-blow. Bottom line: Nano One is at the end of a nearly decade-long development cycle, with a successful demo plant, reams of data and a huge pipeline of third parties, capable of making any cathode with both high quality and low opex. DPMG for cathode is a bench-scale idea with one paper and patent application at square one of this journey. But crucially - even if it didn't have a long development path ahead - I believe that technologically its time has already passed.
NVX electrolyte and graphite tech (where DPMG is a better fit) does bring value and I expect those solutions to continue to get traction and for the company to continue to find success.
"Professor Obrovac and his team developed a breakthrough method that can be applied to the manufacturing of both anode and cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries called dry particle microgranulation (DPMG)."
DPMG is a new spin on mechanofusion which is a wildly different approach to NNO’s.
Nerds can review the polycrystalline patent application here:
https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=CA295416791&_cid=P21-KCTNCM-07331-1 (https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=CA295416791&_cid=P21-KCTNCM-07331-1)
We know they will add a single crystal equivalent shortly, and I’m sure others will follow. All will use aspects of mechanofusion as a base, and as such, wont have any similarities to NNO.