Critical Resources DSD Battery Cell Logs 780 Hours of Continuous Cycling
Key Takeaways
- Critical Resources' DSD pouch cell completed 65 continuous charge-discharge cycles representing approximately 780 hours of uninterrupted electrochemical testing, with the LFP voltage plateau present in every single cycle.
- The cell delivered an initial specific capacity of approximately 145 mAh g⁻¹ and retained approximately 75% (110 mAh g⁻¹) after 65 cycles, with Coulombic efficiency near 100% for the majority of the test.
- Post-test inspection by the CEPS research team attributed capacity fade to the liquid electrolyte and lithium-metal anode reference components — not the DSD-deposited cathode — which appeared stable and intact on visual inspection.
- The peer-reviewed coin-cell result already shows DSD-deposited LFP holding approximately 85% capacity over 500 cycles, anchoring the interpretation that the cathode material is durable and the cell engineering has not yet been optimised.
- Next steps include cell engineering optimisation, CSIRO Digital Twin-informed process refinement, independent third-party validation, and integration of CRR's proprietary Amorphous Solid-State Electrolyte (ASE) — with ASE thin-film deposition already underway.
DSD pouch cell completes more than 780 hours of continuous cycling
Critical Resources Limited (ASX: CRR) has reported the results of extended capacity retention testing on a single full-format laboratory pouch cell built with its solvent-free Dry Supersonic Deposition (DSD) LFP/LLZO cathode matrix, completing 65 continuous charge-discharge cycles representing approximately 780 hours of uninterrupted electrochemical testing.
The cell delivered an initial specific capacity of approximately 145 mAh g⁻¹ at 0.2C and retained approximately 75% (approximately 110 mAh g⁻¹) after 65 cycles. Coulombic efficiency remained near 100% for the majority of the test, consistent with the cathode chemistry remaining electrochemically active throughout.
Testing was conducted at the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology (SDM) within the Centre for Solid-State Electric Power Storage (CEPS), supported by the US National Science Foundation (NSF) and led by Dr Alevtina Smirnova, Director of CEPS and Technical Advisor to Critical Resources. Importantly, this is laboratory-scale work using a conventional liquid reference electrolyte baseline. The Company’s proprietary Amorphous Solid-State Electrolyte (ASE) has not yet been integrated into the pouch-cell platform.
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What the results actually tell us
The most significant finding is straightforward: the characteristic LFP voltage plateau at 3.4–3.5 V was present in every one of the 65 cycles, consistent with the cathode’s Fe²⁺/Fe³⁺ redox chemistry remaining electrochemically active throughout the entire test period.
Coulombic efficiency measures whether the lithium put into the cell during charging comes back out on discharge. It is the most direct readout of electrode electrochemical integrity and is largely independent of the packaging around it. Near-100% efficiency for the vast majority of the test is consistent with the DSD cathode itself remaining active while the broader cell aged around it.
Post-test inspection by the CEPS research team indicated that the observed capacity fade is associated principally with degradation of the two baseline reference components — the liquid electrolyte and the lithium-metal anode — while the DSD-deposited cathode appeared stable and intact on visual inspection. The Company notes this is a qualitative observation, not a completed quantitative post-mortem analysis.
The identified engineering sources of capacity fade — all associated with the hand-assembled cell build rather than the cathode material — include:
- Electrolyte wetting across the large electrode (manual filling)
- Stack pressure (no calibrated fixture)
- Cathode-to-anode alignment (manual stack assembly)
- Layer-to-layer contact (manual lamination)
The peer-reviewed coin-cell result already shows DSD-deposited LFP holding approximately 85% of its capacity over 500 cycles. That anchors the interpretation: the material has demonstrated durability at reference scale; the cell engineering has not yet been optimised.
Tim Wither, Managing Director
“The gap between this cell and the peer-reviewed coin-cell result is genuinely useful. The published work has already shown our DSD-built LFP can hold 85% of its capacity over 500 cycles – so when the full-format cell fades sooner, the results point our research scientists to the cell build and the reference components around our cathode – the liquid electrolyte and the lithium anode – rather than the cathode itself. Prove the material, carry the capacity into full format, then engineer the cell up to the material – that is the right order, and it keeps each result clean and interpretable.”
Understanding DSD and why full-format cycling matters for investors
Dry Supersonic Deposition (DSD) is a solvent-free, binder-free, single-step process that deposits electrode material directly, removing the wet-chemistry steps common in conventional battery manufacturing. That distinction matters for the IP licensing thesis: the process is designed to be simpler and cleaner than incumbent methods, and the commercial proposition depends on demonstrating that it builds electrodes that actually work.
To understand why moving to a full-format pouch cell is significant, it helps to know the difference. Coin cells are small reference formats used in laboratories — think the size of a watch battery — that are straightforward to assemble and test. Pouch cells are closer to real-world battery formats used in devices, grid storage, and defence applications. Graduating from coin-cell to full-format pouch cell is a meaningful step in the scale-up journey.
This particular test focused on retention: how much of a battery’s storage capacity it keeps under repeated charge-discharge cycling. That is a different question from the rate-capability testing CRR reported in July 2026, which asked how much capacity is accessible at increasing power demand. Both data points matter to a prospective licensee.
Critical Resources’ model is to develop and license battery materials and manufacturing-process intellectual property, not to manufacture cells. A cell maker evaluating a licence needs evidence not only that the electrode delivers capacity, but that it sustains that capacity under repeated use. This result provides that second data point.
The milestone sequence so far
The program has advanced through a defined sequence of technical gates:
- Active material survives deposition (March 2026)
- Complete composite layer built in a single dry step (June 2026)
- Layer assembles into a working full-format cell (June 2026)
- Cell delivers near-theoretical capacity with structural recovery under load (July 2026)
- Single cell sustains more than a month of continuous cycling with cathode chemistry active (September 2026)
- CSIRO Digital Twin modelling of the DSD process commencing at Lab22, Clayton (August 2026)
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What comes next for CRR’s battery program
The Company has outlined a defined set of engineering and scientific next steps following this result.
| Next Step | Focus Area | Detail | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cell engineering optimisation | Assembly & interfaces | Refine cell assembly, formation protocols and electrode–electrolyte interfaces, including protection of the lithium-metal anode surface | Underway |
| Process optimisation | Deposition parameters | Refine deposition parameters, layer thickness and conductive-network loading, informed by CSIRO Digital Twin modelling | September 2026 |
| Independent validation | Third-party testing | Submit optimised baseline cell for independent third-party electrochemical testing to establish a validated performance baseline | Planned |
| ASE electrolyte integration | Solid-state advancement | Replace liquid baseline with CRR’s ASE thin-film electrolyte — deposition is underway — building towards a full solid-state cell | Deposition underway |
| ASE and HTE via DSD | Manufacturing endpoint | Advance trials depositing the ASE and HTE electrolytes using the DSD process — the manufacturing endpoint that unifies the sulphur-free solid-state electrolyte with the DSD manufacturing workstream | Planned |
On the IP position underpinning this program: Critical Resources holds an exclusive option over five granted US patents and one pending application from SDM. All new materials and processes developed under the CEPS framework, including the dry-deposition work reported here, are being protected through filed provisional patent applications. The Company’s target markets span defence, aerospace, industrial, and high-density computing and data-centre infrastructure.
The NTU thermal management licence, secured alongside the battery materials program, extends the Company’s IP portfolio into cooling technology for the data-centre and high-density computing markets that sit within CRR’s stated target sectors.
Tim Wither, Managing Director
“Every battery manufacturing process in commercial use today has had to make this same journey – from laboratory reference cells to full-format cells – and these are our first steps on that path. More than a month of continuous cycling in a full-format, hand-built laboratory cell, with the cathode chemistry active in every single cycle, is exactly the result this stage of the program needed.”
Ready to Learn More About Critical Resources’ DSD Battery Technology?
Critical Resources’ (ASX: CRR) full-format DSD pouch cell has now demonstrated over 780 hours of continuous cycling, with cathode chemistry remaining electrochemically active throughout — a significant milestone on the path from laboratory validation to IP licensing.
Explore the full technical detail and the company’s development roadmap by visiting the Critical Resources investor profile on Discovery Alert, where you can track each stage of this emerging solid-state battery program.