US battery materials developer X-Batt has introduced Glassact, a silicon oxycarbide (SiOC) spherical anode technology designed to more than double the energy capacity of conventional graphite anodes while improving stability and safety in lithium-ion batteries.
The company said the domestically produced anode material is targeting reversible capacity of more than 800mAh/g, compared with around 350mAh/g for standard graphite anodes. X-Batt also claims the material is capable of charge rates above 8C while retaining more than 80% of nominal capacity, cyclic swelling below 8%, and cycle life exceeding 8,000 cycles at more than 80% depth of discharge.
“This is the kind of materials innovation the U.S. battery supply chain has been waiting for,” said Bill Easter, CEO of X-Batt. “We’re developing an anode powder that will more than double the energy of graphite, made domestically, at a cost structure that scales.”
Silicon-based anodes have long been viewed as a route to significantly higher energy density in lithium-ion cells because silicon can store substantially more lithium ions than graphite. However, conventional silicon anodes suffer from severe expansion and contraction during charging and discharging, leading to swelling, cracking and rapid degradation.
Spherical particle architecture
X-Batt said its SiOC ceramic structure is designed to overcome those issues through a spherical particle architecture combining a conductive carbon scaffold with a glassy ceramic matrix engineered for lithium storage. The particles are coated with a protective outer shell intended to stabilise the electrolyte interface.
According to the company, the spheres are produced by shaping a proprietary pre-ceramic resin into tightly controlled microspheres before converting them into ceramic particles using low-temperature pyrolysis furnaces with short residence times.
The company said the process avoids much of the downstream powder-processing complexity associated with competing silicon-anode technologies.
As a thermally and chemically stable ceramic material, SiOC does not undergo the same degree of swelling associated with pure silicon anodes, according to X-BATT. The company added that the combination of low surface area and spherical morphology could provide improved safety margins alongside higher energy density.
Potential applications highlighted by the company include electric vehicles, stationary energy storage, defence systems and consumer electronics.
“Glassact changes what’s possible for silicon-based anodes,” Easter added. “It delivers higher energy, better stability, and a path to scalable production that the industry has been working toward for years.”
Main photo: an AI-generated image of graphite spheres in a shallow petri dish.
