Chapter 60 Lifespan Breakthrough

At seven in the morning, Chen Xueming pushed open the laboratory door earlier than usual.

Last night, he had put a new batch of samples on the machine for testing, setting them for continuous cycling. According to the plan, they should have reached around 800 cycles by this morning. This figure was what he had calculated based on the data from previous rounds—if everything went smoothly.

He walked to the test bench, held his breath, and looked at the screen.

Current Cycle Count: 847

Capacity Retention Rate: 81.3%

Chen Xueming stood there stunned, staring at that number for a full ten seconds.

847 cycles.

It exceeded 800.

He rubbed his eyes and looked again. Indeed, 847 cycles. The curve was stable, and the decay was slow; following this trend, reaching over 900 cycles would be no problem.

"It worked?" he murmured to himself, his voice trembling slightly.

"What worked?"

Zhang Zhe's voice suddenly came from behind him. Chen Xueming was startled. Turning around, he saw that Zhang Zhe had also arrived at some point and was standing behind him, staring at the screen.

"847 cycles." Chen Xueming pointed at the screen, excitement suppressed in his voice. "Teacher Zhang, 847 cycles."

Zhang Zhe leaned in to take a look, a rare smile appearing on his face. "It really did work."

The two looked at each other, then both turned back to the test bench, watching the batteries that were still continuously charging and discharging, momentarily at a loss for words.

847 cycles. They were only 153 cycles away from the commercial standard of 1,000.

Moreover, this was only the first round of optimization.

"Dr. Chen," Zhang Zhe said suddenly, "can the ratio of that additive of yours be adjusted further?"

Chen Xueming nodded. "I was thinking about that too. The FDEC concentration is currently 0.5M. If it's lowered to 0.4M, it might affect the suppression effect, but the ionic conductivity would improve..."

The two immediately huddled in front of the whiteboard and began discussing.

At seven-thirty, Li Xiao pushed the door open and entered. Seeing the two in front of the whiteboard again, she couldn't help but laugh. "Dr. Chen, Teacher Zhang, did you two pull another all-nighter?"

Chen Xueming didn't even turn his head. "No, we just got here. Xiao, come look quickly, it's at 847 cycles."

Li Xiao froze for a moment, then rushed over with a "Wow!" Staring at the numbers on the screen, her eyes went wide. "847?! For real?!"

"See for yourself." Chen Xueming pointed at the curve. "It's been running since last night."

Li Xiao watched for a few seconds and suddenly jumped up. "Fantastic! Dr. Chen, you're amazing!"

Her shout startled Chen Xueming, but then he couldn't help but laugh as well.

"It wasn't just my credit," he said. "Teacher Zhang's separator, your data, Teacher Lin's ideas—we couldn't have done it without any one of them."

Li Xiao waved her hand. "Oh, stop being so modest! I'm going to tell Teacher Lin!"

As she spoke, she was about to rush out, only to bump right into Lin Mo as he pushed the door open.

"Tell what?" Lin Mo asked with a smile.

"Teacher Lin!" Li Xiao pointed at the screen. "847 cycles! Dr. Chen's formula reached 847 cycles!"

Lin Mo walked over, looked at the data on the screen, and nodded. "Not bad."

Chen Xueming was stunned—just "not bad"?

He thought Lin Mo would be a bit more excited, but Lin Mo's expression was calm, so calm it was as if he had known this would happen all along.

"Teacher Lin," Chen Xueming couldn't help but ask, "did you guess this would happen?"

Lin Mo shook his head. "It wasn't a guess; it was belief. Your direction is correct; it was only a matter of time before it worked out."

He paused, then added, "However, 847 cycles is still a way off from 1,000. Any thoughts on how to proceed next?"

Chen Xueming nodded and pointed at the path he had just discussed with Zhang Zhe on the whiteboard. "We want to further optimize the FDEC concentration, possibly lowering it to 0.4M, while simultaneously adjusting the LiNO₃ ratio to see if we can find a better balance between suppression effects and ionic conductivity."

Lin Mo looked at the formulas on the whiteboard, fell silent for a few seconds, and then said:

"Have you considered the formation process?"

Chen Xueming was taken aback. "The formation process?"

"Right." Lin Mo walked to the whiteboard and picked up a marker. "There's nothing wrong with your formula or the separator, but the formation process during the battery's first charge and discharge might affect the quality of the SEI film. If we can use specific current densities and temperature curves during the formation stage, we might be able to make the SEI film more stable, thereby increasing the cycle life."

He drew a curve on the whiteboard:

"For example, like this—first activation with a small current, then increasing the current in steps, and finally constant current charging. This formation method could potentially make the SEI film denser and more uniform."

Chen Xueming stared at that curve, his eyes growing brighter and brighter.

"This line of thought... I never considered it," he murmured. "Formation processes are usually standardized; rarely does anyone optimize them specifically for a particular formula..."

"Then let's try it." Lin Mo put down the marker. "You guys continue optimizing the formula, and I'll design the experimental plan for the formation process. We'll take both paths simultaneously and see how far we can push it."

Chen Xueming nodded, a complex emotion welling up in his heart.

How exactly was Lin Mo's brain wired? He clearly didn't come from an electrochemistry background, yet he could always think of points that others missed.

For the next three days, the laboratory entered another round of intense work.

Chen Xueming was responsible for adjusting the formula: FDEC concentration went from 0.5M to 0.4M, then to 0.35M; the LiNO₃ ratio rose from 0.1M to 0.15M; he also tried several different solvent ratios. Every time an adjustment was made, a new batch of samples was produced and put on the machine for testing.

Zhang Zhe was responsible for coordination: after every formula adjustment, he had to re-evaluate the compatibility of the separator to ensure the ceramic coating wouldn't be corroded or clogged by the new formula.

Li Xiao was in charge of the data: she entered the results of every test round into the database in real-time and used a program she wrote to automatically generate comparison curves, helping Chen Xueming quickly judge which direction was superior.

Lin Mo, meanwhile, immersed himself in the formation process experiments. He observed data in the lab by day and returned to his office at night to open the system, using research points to exchange for simulation deductions to verify the effects of different formation plans.

System simulations showed that if a 'stepped activation + constant temperature resting' formation process was used in conjunction with the E-Li-1.5 formula Chen Xueming was currently optimizing, the theoretical cycle life could break through 1,200 cycles.

Lin Mo kept this direction in mind but didn't say anything. The next day, under the guise of 'intuition,' he told Chen Xueming the formation plan.

"Try this." He handed a piece of paper to Chen Xueming, which had a detailed current-time curve drawn on it. "First, a small current of 0.1C for 2 hours, then rest for 30 minutes, then 0.2C for 1 hour, then rest... finally constant current charging at 0.5C until full."

Chen Xueming looked at the paper, his brow furrowing slightly. "This program... is a bit complicated. Conventional formation is just direct constant current charging. Won't this stepped approach be too slow?"

"It doesn't matter if it's a bit slow as long as the results are good," Lin Mo said. "The formation of the SEI film is like building a house; building it slowly, layer by layer, is sturdier than finishing it in one go."

Chen Xueming thought about it and nodded. "Alright, let's try it."

Three days later, the first batch of samples using the new formation process was ready.

On the night of the testing, no one left.

At eight o'clock, the samples began cycling. At nine, they reached 100 cycles with a capacity retention of 99.2%. At ten, 200 cycles, 98.7%. At eleven, 300 cycles, 97.8%.

Li Xiao recorded the data every hour, getting more excited with each entry. "The decay is much slower than before! According to this slope, reaching 1,000 cycles should be no problem!"

Chen Xueming stared at the screen, his palms sweating.

Twelve o'clock, 400 cycles, 96.5%.

One in the morning, 500 cycles, 95.1%.

Two in the morning, 600 cycles, 93.8%.

"It's better than the data from the 847 batch," Zhang Zhe said softly. "At the same 600 cycles, that batch's capacity retention was only around 91%."

Chen Xueming nodded without speaking.

Three in the morning, 700 cycles, 92.4%.

Four in the morning, 800 cycles, 91.2%.

Li Xiao let out a yawn, but her eyes were still fixed on the screen. "800 cycles, and the capacity is still at 91.2%. The 847 batch was only at 83% at 800 cycles..."

Chen Xueming stood up, walked to the window, and took a deep breath.

Outside, dawn was approaching, and the eastern sky was turning pale. The silhouette of the distant Kunlun Mountains gradually became clear, like a silent barrier.

“Dr. Chen,” Zhang Zhe's voice came from behind, “it’s at 900 cycles.”

Chen Xueming spun around and rushed to the screen.

Current Cycle Count: 912

Capacity Retention Rate: 89.7%

"It's still running," Li Xiao's voice trembled slightly. "At this rate of decay, it should hold up to 1,000 cycles."

Chen Xueming stared at the curve, which was still gentle, and suddenly felt his eyes grow warm.

912 cycles.

Only 88 cycles away from 1,000.

"Keep waiting," he said.

At seven in the morning, Lin Mo pushed the door open and saw the three of them huddled around the test bench, their eyes bloodshot from staying up.

"How many?" he asked.

Chen Xueming turned his head, his voice raspy. "1,038 cycles, capacity retention 86.2%."

Lin Mo was stunned for a moment, then he smiled.

"Broken through."

Chen Xueming nodded and smiled as well.

Broken through.

The commercial standard of 1,000 cycles had been broken.

"It's still running," Li Xiao added. "It's at 1,042 cycles now."

The four of them gathered around the screen, watching the curve continue its slow descent. 1,045 cycles, 1,048 cycles, 1,052 cycles...

Finally, at 1,058 cycles, the capacity retention fell below the 80% passing line.

Final Cycle Life: 1,058 cycles.

The laboratory was quiet for a few seconds, and then Li Xiao was the first to cheer. "Fantastic! 1,058 cycles!"

The corners of Zhang Zhe's mouth curled up into a rare smile. Chen Xueming stood in place, looking at the numbers on the screen, not speaking for a long time.

Lin Mo walked over and patted him on the shoulder.

"Dr. Chen, congratulations."

Chen Xueming turned his head to look at Lin Mo, his eyes red.

"Teacher Lin," his voice was a bit hoarse, "thank you."

"What are you thanking me for?" Lin Mo laughed. "You did this yourself."

Chen Xueming shook his head, wanted to say something, but swallowed it back down.

He wasn't thanking Lin Mo for giving him the opportunity, nor for Lin Mo's ideas. He was thanking—thanking this person for making him believe once again that he could still achieve something.

Just then, the door was pushed open.

Zhao Gang walked in carrying several bags. Seeing everyone's expressions, he was taken aback. "What's up? What happened?"

Li Xiao rushed over. "Uncle Zhao! We succeeded! 1,058 cycles!"

Zhao Gang froze for a moment, then he also laughed. "Really? That's great! Just in time, I bought breakfast. Let's celebrate!"

He placed the bags on the table. Fried dough sticks, soy milk, steamed buns, and tea eggs filled half the table.

"Come, come, come, eat first! Be happy after you eat!"

The group gathered around, grabbing fried dough sticks and buns, eating while looking at the number 1,058 on the screen, their faces filled with uncontrollable smiles.

Chen Xueming took a bite of a bun and suddenly remembered something, looking at Lin Mo.

"Teacher Lin, where did the inspiration for that formation process of yours come from?"

Lin Mo took a sip of soy milk and said casually, "From reading. There's an old paper discussing the formation mechanism of the SEI film in lithium-ion batteries that mentioned a similar method."

Chen Xueming nodded and didn't press further.

But in his heart, he had a faint feeling that Lin Mo might be hiding some secret.

However, that wasn't important.

What mattered was that they had done it.

In the afternoon, Fang Lin personally came to the laboratory.

She stood before the test bench, looking at the number 1,058 on the screen. After a few seconds of silence, she turned to look at Chen Xueming.

"Dr. Chen, congratulations."

Chen Xueming was a bit awkward. "Thank you, Director Fang."

Fang Lin then looked at Lin Mo. "Those above already know about your progress. What are your plans for the next step?"

Lin Mo said, "Continue optimizing. 1,058 cycles is the starting point, not the end. We want to aim for 1,500 cycles and strive to make lithium-sulfur batteries truly commercially viable."

Fang Lin nodded. "If you need any support, just say the word."

Lin Mo thought for a moment. "Nothing for now. The team is in a very good state; what we need is time."

Fang Lin smiled. "Time is something I can't give you much of. But for other support, I'll do my best."

She walked to the door, then turned back and added one more thing:

"By the way, Li Xiao was a huge help with the network security side. The honeypot has captured the other party's detailed operations, and we are currently tracing the source. You guys focus on the research; leave the external matters to me."

Li Xiao's face turned slightly red at being mentioned.

After Fang Lin left, the laboratory became quiet once more.

Chen Xueming went back to his workstation, opened his computer, and began organizing today's data. Zhang Zhe was recording test parameters nearby, and Li Xiao was updating the database.

Everything was as usual.

But everyone knew that from today on, things were different.

1,058 cycles.

They had stepped over the threshold of the commercial standard.

That evening, Chen Xueming left early for once.

He returned to his dormitory and sat at his desk, staring out the window in a daze.

His phone vibrated; it was a message from Li Xiao:

"Dr. Chen, what do you want for breakfast tomorrow? Let's celebrate!"

Chen Xueming looked at the message, a smile appearing on his face.

He replied with a few words:

"Anything's fine, whatever you cook."

Li Xiao replied instantly:

"Got it! Then tomorrow it's preserved egg and pork congee + fried dough sticks + fried eggs! Goodnight!"

Chen Xueming put down his phone and continued looking out the window.

The lights in the experimental building in the distance were still on. He knew Lin Mo was definitely still there, Zhang Zhe probably hadn't left either, and Li Xiao was likely staying up late writing code again.

But he wasn't going today.

He wanted to get a good night's sleep.

Tomorrow, he had to get back to work.