Lambda’s Battery History Initial interest from A123 and DOE Battery electrode drying too long and costly Reduce high energy costs and large dryer footprint Residual moisture and slurry drying targeted processes Initial work was joint development with A123 DOE funded project enabled rental of VFM lab oven Data on residual moisture removal very encouraging Potential of slurry drying evaluated Next project was joint development with Navitas Initial results on drying of slurry quantified potential Lambda proposed DOE funding with Navitas as subawardee DOE contract awarded in late 2014

DOE Funded Project Standard VFM Power & Control Module Custom process chamber developed for wider format roll-to-roll processing Dries aqueous slurries at least 5X faster than conventional dryer Battery partner confirmed equivalent battery performance

Status of DOE Project Battery electrodes were dried in a roll-to-roll VFM system Half and Single Layer Pouch cells confirm equivalence to POR VFM system delivered to battery manufacturer Currently being used in their pilot production line Complete batteries have been produced from VFM dried electrodes Results will be reported to DOE in late 2016 Lambda is working toward commercial implementation of VFM for battery electrode manufacturing Lambda is actively discussing partnerships with end users and integrators

Why VFM for Batteries Faster drying time VFM is Complimentary Smaller footprint (less WIP, JIT manufacturing enabler…) Less energy required Enables converting batch to inline VFM is Complimentary VFM heats volumetrically throughout, conventional heats outside - in Complete oven replacement not necessary Can be retrofitted into existing lines to improve throughput VFM heating enables unique material microstructure Faster drying without binder migration Control pore formation Allows uniform drying of thicker films

Conventional Heating or VFM IR or convection heat surface of the electrode slurry Internal heating depends on thermal conductivity Thick slurries cannot be dried adequately Electrodes are 30% - 40% porous Pores do not conduct heat well with IR or Convection VFM penetrates deep into electrode slurry Heating is by rotational movement of polar (solvent) molecules Pores enhance VFM interaction with polar molecules Thicker slurries VFM penetrates deep into slurry and simultaneously rotates all dipoles Unlike IR or convection VFM does not dry surface first that results in surface defects

Drying Rate Comparison Advanced Drying Process (ADP) employs both the higher microwave drying rate earlier in the process followed by the higher convection drying rate as illustrated in following slide.

Navitas Continuous coating/drying : Cathode Binder (PVDF) Distribution Al foil Surface 10 mm Al foil Surface Standard drying Advanced drying process Binder is located at the dark blue spots in the EDX spectra Binder distribution ratio (electrode surface to near foil substrate) observed values were <1.3 target

Advanced drying process Navitas Continuous coating/drying : Anode Binder (CMC/SBR) Distribution Standard drying Advanced drying process Cu foil Binder is located at the white spots in the backscatter SEM micrographs Binder distribution ratio (electrode surface to near foil substrate) observed values were <1.3 target

First formation cycle for Single Layer Pouch (SLP) cells

Capacity retention at discharge rates

Cycle life testing for HEC prismatic cells

Residual Moisture Removal When complete cells are received into dry room the residual moisture must be removed before battery packaging VFM reported to be substantially faster than vacuum batch Faster VFM drying enables roll-to-roll processing Potential to integrate more process steps with faster dryer

Impact on Existing Production Line How to Increase Throughput? Add a Vari-Dry VFM module onto existing ovens! - Comparative module is to scale - Increases line speed by 3-4 times

VariDry NMP Cathode Drying Results obtained under DOE contract VariDry proved to be 3X faster than hot air dryer Hot Air Dryer VariDry VariDry as a Booster Hot Air Dryer VariDry The effect for production: A 30 meter long hot air dryer throughput is matched by 10 meter long VariDry system or increase throughput 4X with only 33% additional dryer footprint. Reduced space, energy and improved morphology.

VariDry Aqueous Anode Drying Results obtained under DOE contract VariDry proved to be 5X faster than hot air dryer Hot Air Dryer VariDry VariDry projected as a Booster Hot Air Dryer VariDry The effect for production: A 30 meter long hot air dryer throughput is matched by 6 meter long VariDry system or increase throughput a minimum of 4X with only 20% additional dryer footprint. Potential for thicker films / higher loadings electrodes.

VariDry Power Savings Latest results obtained under DOE contract: Objective: Confirm a target power savings of 30- 50% by a direct comparison between VFM & Convection POR processes Process: Independent runs for both POR and VFM for anode drying (graphite/H2O chemistry) Results: Confirmed VFM reduces energy output per meter of material produced by nominally 70% The result for production: Only one third (33%) of the conventional power needed is required for electrode drying process via VFM

Additional Power Savings POR oven does not turn off except for very long breaks VFM oven can reduce to idle for breaks longer than 30 mins VFM power consumption at idle = 3 kVA VFM warm up time is less than POR POR warm up time = 60 minutes VFM warm up time = 15 minutes VFM adds less heat to the manufacturing space Good in winter but bad in summer!

VFM is also a more Green process Time reduction Cycle time reduced from >4 hrs to <20 minutes Major benefit for process development or mixed lot production Energy reduction Energy transferred efficiently to the polymer – no energy wasted heating the oven No energy required to cool the oven after cure Example of energy savings in a non-IC application