Cold Atmospheric Plasma-Based Inspection & Real-Time Process Control of Electrode Materials to Enable High-Performance Battery Manufacturing
Summary
SCH Number
2025100580
Public Agency
California Energy Commission
Document Title
Cold Atmospheric Plasma-Based Inspection & Real-Time Process Control of Electrode Materials to Enable High-Performance Battery Manufacturing
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
10/14/2025
Document Description
This project is applied research and development in which the Recipient will design, develop, and test an inline thin film metrology platform, based on cold atmospheric plasmas, for electrode measurement and characterization; perform third party interviews; and develop software and machine learning tools to increase the effectiveness of the platform. The purpose of the project is to scale this platform so that it can be used in battery production to more quickly and thoroughly inspect battery electrode materials. The immediate beneficiaries are battery manufacturers; the ultimate beneficiaries will be California ratepayers, through the provision of safer and less expensive batteries for mobile devices and stationary energy storage.
Contact Information
Name
Jared O'Leary
Agency Name
SirenOpt, Inc.
Job Title
Chief Executive Officer
Contact Types
Project Applicant / Parties Undertaking Project
Phone
Name
Benson Gilbert
Agency Name
California Energy Commission
Job Title
Commission Agreement Manager
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Address
Phone
Location
Cities
Hayward, Oakland, San Leandro
Counties
Alameda
Regions
Citywide
Cross Streets
Multiple Locations
Other Location Info
8000 Edgewater Dr. Ste 200, Oakland 94621
15555 E 14th St., San Leandro 94578
31057 Genstar Rd Ste A, Hayward 94544
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
Cal. Code Regs., tit. 14, § 15301
Reasons for Exemption
Cal. Code Regs. (CCR), Title 14, Section 15301 (Existing Facilities) consists of the operation, repair, maintenance or minor alteration of existing public or private structures, facilities, or mechanical equipment involving negligible or no expansion of existing or former use. This project will advance innovative battery manufacturing inspection and process control technologies to the pilot-scale demonstration stage through applied research and development and scalable integration into commercial research and development (R&D) electrode manufacturing (EM) workflows and high-volume EM lines, and by demonstrating how the inline electrode inspection solution will enable real-time process control and process optimization. The project will be carried out in two separate facilities, where work for the project will be moved near the beginning of the project from one facility (located in Oakland, California) to another facility (located in San Leandro, California).
The facility in Oakland, CA is approximately 3,000 square foot (sf) in size and includes combined office and lab space. At this facility there is no permitting required to conduct research and test equipment for this project, or to perform other work for this project as listed within its scope of work (SOW).
The facility in San Leandro, CA is approximately 10,000 sf in size and includes combined office and lab space. At this facility there is no permitting required to conduct research and test equipment for this project, or to perform other work for this project as listed within its SOW.
To support SOW Subtask 3.2, a project partner has committed the use of their facility to support this project. The existing facility is located in Hayward, is approximately 20,818 sf in size, and includes combined office (including conference room, single office, kitchen, and multipurpose), wet lab, dry room, and shop space. Recipient will develop procedures for pairing the inline metrology sensor platform with the digital factory host at the partner’s site and evaluate the metrology sensor’s performance under relevant electrode manufacturing processing conditions. All performance testing will occur, and all equipment will be placed within the existing facility.
The project will involve negligible or no expansion of use beyond that existing at the time of the lead agency’s determination. Specifically, the project includes operation of existing facilities, mechanical equipment, electronic and electrical equipment, and negligible change of use for each location. Additionally, the project will not result
in the addition to floorspace of the existing structures, and there will be only minor interior alterations or construction associated with the project.
This project does not involve impacts on any particularly sensitive environment; does not involve any cumulative impacts of successive projects of the same type in the same place that might be considered significant; does not involve unusual circumstances that might have a significant effect on the environment; will not result in damage to scenic resources within a highway officially designated as a state scenic highway; the project site is not included on any list compiled pursuant to Government Code section 65962.5; and the project will not cause a substantial adverse change in the significance of a historical resource. Therefore, none of the exceptions to
categorical exemptions listed in CEQA Guidelines section 15300.2 apply to this project, and this project will not have a significant effect on the environment.
For these reasons, the proposed work will not have any significant effect on the environment and falls under section 15301.
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
Disclaimer: The Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation (LCI) accepts no responsibility for the content or accessibility of these documents. To obtain an attachment in a different format, please contact the lead agency at the contact information listed above. For more information, please visit LCI’s Accessibility Site.