Electrode structure for a battery and method of manufacturing the same

A battery electrode, comprising:

• a middle layer made of an electrically conductive perforated mesh having a top surface, a bottom surface, a plurality of interconnected electrically conductive segments and a plurality of perforations among adjacent ones of the interconnected electrically conductive segments;
• a top layer of an electrode material disposed on the top surface, wherein the electrode material is a cured initially thixotropic slurry or paste containing at least one of graphite, silicon, silicon oxide, lithiated silicon and lithiated silicon oxide if the battery electrode is formed as an anode, or at least one of a layered transition metal oxide, an olivine and a spinel if the battery electrode is formed as a cathode;
• and
• a bottom layer of the electrode material disposed on the bottom surface,
• wherein the top and bottom layers are disposed in physical contact with each other through the plurality of perforations in the middle layer,
• wherein the perforated mesh is a 3D-printed mesh of an electrically non-conductive material onto which an electrically conductive second material has been electrodeposited,
• wherein the second material is made of steel, stainless steel, copper, aluminum or titanium.

A method of manufacturing an electrode structure for a battery, comprising:

• 3D-printing a layer of electrically non-conductive perforated mesh having a top surface, a bottom surface, a plurality of interconnected segments and a plurality of perforations among adjacent ones of the interconnected segments;
• electrodepositing a conductive material onto the non-conductive perforated mesh such that its segments are electrically conductive;
• applying a top layer and a bottom layer of electrode material to the top and bottom surfaces, respectively, such that the top and bottom layers are in physical contact with each other through the plurality of perforations in the perforated mesh;
• and
• curing the top and bottom layers of electrode material using one or more of heat, electromagnetic radiation and convection to produce a sheet of cured electrode structure.