Electrochemical Energy Storage Devices and Methods of Making and Using the Same

This published application covers a solid-state electrochemical energy storage device built around a specific separator/electrolyte chemistry. Claim 1 recites four core elements — a first electrode, a second electrode, a separator positioned between them, and a solid-state electrolyte in electrolytic contact with both the separator and the electrodes — with the distinguishing limitations sitting in the materials: the separator must comprise a polyethylene polymer, lithium hexafluorophosphate, and solid electrolyte ceramic filler, and the solid-state electrolyte itself must also contain a solid electrolytic ceramic filler. Dependent claim 2 broadens the disclosure toward a long-life, low-voltage battery using a lithium-tin alloy cathode (compositions such as Li₂Sn₅, LiSn, Li₁₃Sn₅, Li₇Sn₂, Li₂₂Sn₅) with an atomic-layer-deposited cathode active material or conductive additive. The stated goals, per the abstract, are an all-solid-state cell devoid of liquid organic solvents that suppresses lithium dendrite formation/penetration and the internal short circuits that cause thermal runaway, while delivering high energy density and a high-specific-capacity lithium-metal anode.

The application is assigned to ADA Technologies Inc, with Weibing Xing named as sole inventor. It was published in 2019 and is not granted in this dataset; because it was filed several years ago, its true legal status — whether granted, abandoned, or lapsed — is not reflected here and should be treated as unknown rather than assumed pending. The family is a single member in a single country (US only), which signals a focused, domestic-only prosecution strategy rather than broad international coverage — consistent with a smaller R&D-focused company protecting a specific result. It carries 12 forward citations, a respectable count for a US-only published application of this age, indicating that the separator/electrolyte composition has drawn meaningful downstream attention relative to its narrow filing footprint.

Where this patent stands: This is best read as a niche materials refinement rather than a foundational anchor filing. It does not claim the broad architecture of solid-state lithium batteries — that ground was staked decades earlier by the field's incumbents — but instead claims a particular composite separator (polyethylene + LiPF₆ + ceramic filler) and a lithium-tin alloy cathode pathway. ADA Technologies is a contract R&D firm, not a high-volume cell manufacturer, so this filing most likely underpins a specific funded development program or licensing position rather than a mass-market product line. Relative to the field's main players — PolyPlus, Sion Power, and the more recent solid-state entrants — it sits at the periphery, addressing a specialized solution to the well-known dendrite/thermal-runaway problem rather than competing on the core protected-anode or solid-electrolyte-sheet claims those players dominate.

The surrounding space is tightly clustered and chemistry-dense. The technology concentration is overwhelmingly in Batteries & Fuel Cells (H01M) at 60.8× the corpus baseline and Clean Energy (Y02E) at 31.2× — both far above the 10× threshold that marks a heavily concentrated field, confirming that virtually every neighbor is a lithium-battery materials or cell-architecture filing. By citation impact the space is led by PolyPlus Battery Company (9 patents, 845 citations), with Moltech Corporation, the Trustees of Tufts College, and Sion Power Corporation also prominent; these reflect the long-running work on protected lithium anodes and solid/glass electrolytes that the subject patent's dendrite-suppression goals build upon.

Closest related patents:

• US-9793525-B2 — Solid-state battery electrodes (Johnson Battery Technologies · 3 citations · 26-member family). The nearest neighbor by relevance; covers solid-state electrode construction, directly adjacent to the subject's all-solid-state cell and ceramic-filler electrolyte claims.
• US-2016233549-A1 — High Salt Concentration Electrolytes for Rechargeable Lithium Battery (SolidEnergy Systems · 45 citations · 12-member family). Addresses the electrolyte side of the same dendrite/high-energy-density problem, overlapping the subject's solid-electrolyte and LiPF₆ chemistry.
• US-10164289-B2 — Vitreous solid electrolyte sheets of Li-ion conducting sulfur-based glass (PolyPlus Battery Company · 24 citations · 28-member family). A core PolyPlus solid-electrolyte filing representing the dominant incumbent's approach to the same solid-state, dendrite-resistant architecture.
• US-11450926-B2 — Solid electrolyte separator bonding agent (QuantumScape Battery · 3 citations · 9-member family). A recent (2022), lightly-cited but directly on-point filing on solid-electrolyte separators — strategic IP the citation-weighted score under-rewards, reflecting a major solid-state entrant's later activity in the same separator/electrolyte interface space.

Note that PolyPlus appears on multiple of the nearest patents (entries [3], [8], [18], [19]) and also leads the citation chart, so its dominance here is real rather than a chart artifact. The mix of corporate incumbents (PolyPlus, Sion Power, Corning, Hyundai, Applied Materials, Quantum