AI is poised to revolutionize the development of new battery materials, with expectations of halving the time required for innovation, as reported by the Financial Times on January 24, 2024. Key insights from the report include:
(A) Umicore and Microsoft Collaboration:
- Umicore Materials Technology Group from Belgium and Microsoft are collaborating on an experimental program to explore new battery materials.
- Mathias Miedreich, CEO of Umicore Group, anticipates that AI can reduce the development time for new battery materials from 5 to 6 years to just 2 years.
- The collaboration aims to bring breakthroughs in materials like solid battery materials and irregular rock salt, enhancing electric vehicle (EV) driving range and enabling new battery applications.
- The computer power currently available may need augmentation for all expected breakthroughs, and real-world testing of materials remains crucial for verifying benefits.
(B) Microsoft and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory:
- Microsoft has partnered with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to develop an algorithm streamlining the screening of raw materials for batteries.
- The algorithm reduced the number of raw materials from 32 million to 18 in just 80 hours.
- Testing is underway on a lithium and nano mixture, potentially replacing up to 70% of lithium in batteries, addressing lithium shortages.
- Combining AI with robots for automated experimental operations is expected to generate substantial experimental data for the industry.
(C) Global Competition and AI in the Battery Industry: 
- Some investors see the U.S. as ahead of China in AI development, suggesting that AI’s role in selecting battery materials may reduce U.S. reliance on China and help the West compete with Asia’s dominant position in the global battery industry.
