Advance anode-free battery development from fundamentals to cell upscaling

Anode-free architectures eliminate excess metal anodes, yielding higher energy density, reduced weight, and simplified manufacturing. Anode-Free Rechargeable Batteries: Design, Performance, and Upscaling delivers a structured treatment spanning lithium, sodium, zinc, and post-lithium chemistries. The book integrates fundamental operating principles, interphase engineering, materials selection, and system-level design into a single reference for researchers and engineers working in energy storage.

Coverage progresses from electrochemistry fundamentals to advanced topics including electrolyte regulation, current collector modification, and failure mechanism analysis. Performance-comparison tables and illustrated examples enable direct evaluation across competing chemistries. A unified benchmarking framework establishes standardized test protocols and a practical roadmap for scaling from coin cells to pouch cells under real-world manufacturing constraints.

The book also covers:

• Detailed treatment of anode-free sodium and zinc battery systems alongside emerging post-lithium chemistries and their specific design challenges
• Interphase engineering strategies addressing dendrite formation, Coulombic efficiency losses, and cycle life degradation in metal-free anode configurations
• Practical design rules linking electrolyte formulation, current collector surface treatment, and cell architecture to measurable electrochemical performance metrics
• A commercialization roadmap addressing cost reduction, safety assessment protocols, and manufacturing scalability for transitioning laboratory results to production
• Systematic comparison of lithium, sodium, and zinc systems using standardized metrics clarifying trade-offs in energy density and longevity

Designed for electrochemists, materials scientists, physical chemists, and solid-state chemists working in energy storage, this reference equips researchers and engineers with the benchmarking tools, design principles, and scaling strategies needed to advance anode-free battery systems from laboratory concept to commercial deployment.

Hua Wang is a Professor at Beihang University in Beijing, China, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry. His research focuses on nanomaterials, energy materials, and secondary batteries, resulting in over 140 scientific publications with 12,000+ citations. He is a recipient of the NSFC Excellent Young Scientist Fund and serves as Deputy Editor-in-Chief of eChem and editorial board member of Rare Metals.