The American startup Pure Lithium announced a laboratory result for a lithium-metal battery using lithium iron phosphate (LFP) chemistry without the conventional graphite anode, saying that a test cell achieved 9,315 charge and discharge cycles. The company claims that this result is approximately three times longer than the cycle life of a conventional lithium-ion battery and, to its knowledge, is unprecedented among lithium-metal batteries under development.
The technology is not a solid-state battery, nor does it rely on a silicon anode. Instead, Pure Lithium uses a liquid electrolyte and a lithium-metal anode created directly on a copper current collector through an electroplating process. The company says this process enables the anode, one of the cell’s components, to be manufactured in a single step.
What changes in practice?
Pure Lithium’s design is linked to an attempt to remove graphite from the cell, not to eliminate the anode altogether. According to the company, graphite occupies space and adds weight inside the cell, while more than 90% of the graphite used globally is processed in China. The company is betting that the space made available after its removal can be allocated to additional energy-storage materials.
Chief Executive Officer Emilie Bodoin says the battery could weigh half as much as batteries currently in use and have twice their energy density, with a significant reduction in cost. The company states that the first generation of its battery reaches 300 watt-hours per kilogram, while the second generation targets 425 watt-hours per kilogram. Pure Lithium did not specify the energy density of the cell that achieved the 9,315-cycle test.
A strong result, but within a laboratory test
The test was conducted at a 1C charge and discharge rate, meaning the cell was fully charged over one hour and then discharged over one hour repeatedly. The company said the cell retained approximately its discharge capacity after thousands of cycles, but the test was not continuous; it stopped near cycle 6,000 for four months while the company moved its headquarters from Boston to Chicago, and was later resumed.
Pure Lithium also noted that fluctuations at the beginning of the test were affected by a lack of temperature control and multiple power outages at its laboratory in Boston. It also said that an earlier test in January 2025 showed a cell retaining more than 80% of its capacity after 2,200 cycles at a similar rate.
Why does this news matter?
If these results translate to larger cells and scalable production, the technology could offer a way to reduce reliance on graphite and supply chains linked to China, while preserving the LFP chemistry that is expanding domestically in the United States. However, the current data do not yet prove that it can compete with commercial batteries in cost, safety, or performance at the full-pack level.
Pure Lithium is currently working on a pilot line in Chicago and is in discussions with more than 40 companies to help commercialize and scale the technology. The company faces competition from companies such as Factorial, Solid Power, and QuantumScape, but those companies are pursuing different approaches, including solid or semi-solid electrolytes and silicon-anode technologies. Therefore, the 9,315-cycle result remains an important laboratory indicator, not an announcement of a commercially available battery.