Patent ID: 8420158

Claim:
A process for making an electrode sheet for a lithium electrochemical cells comprising the steps of: a) admixing water, an organic solvent miscible with water in a water/organic solvent ratio of a maximum of 50% organic solvent by volume and a polyether polymer or copolymer soluble in water, and dissolving at least one lithium salt therein, to form an interim solution including constituents of an ionically conductive electrolyte consisting of the polymer or copolymer and the at least one lithium salt; b) dispersing at least one electrochemically active material and an electrically conductive material into the interim solution to form a solution/suspension containing by weight at least 40% of water/organic solvent mix; at least 20% electrochemically active material, at least 5% of a polyether polymer or copolymer, up to 10% weight electrically conductive material and at least 1.5% lithium salt; c) coating the solution/suspension in the form of an electrode thin film onto an electrode support; and, d) drying the electrode thin film to remove the water and organic solvent and obtain an electrode thin sheet having less than 1000 ppm of residual water.