Design and Application of Resource‐Efficient Current Collectors with Tunable Surface Morphology for Anode‐Free Lithium‐Metal Batteries

Anode‐free Li metal batteries (AFLMBs) show great potential for achieving high energy and power densities, but their practical application is hindered by inefficient Li plating and stripping on conventional Cu foil current collectors (CCs), resulting in poor cycling stability and safety risks. To address this, a novel grid CC fabricated by depositing a thin Cu layer onto a glass‐grid substrate is investigated. Electrochemical tests reveal that the grid CC significantly improves Li deposition uniformity and cycling performance compared to standard Cu foil. AFLMBs employing the grid CC and a LiFePO 4 (LFP) cathode with 2.23 mAh cm −2 loading retain 46% of their initial capacity after 100 cycles, while those with Cu foil retain only 30%. Postmortem analyzes using scanning electron microscopy, coulometric titration time analysis, and titration gas chromatography confirm that the enhanced performance arises from reduced dead Li accumulation during cycling. The 3D grid structure with high surface area promotes uniform current distribution and accommodates Li volume changes, mitigating dendrite growth and inactive Li formation. This resource‐efficient and versatile design provides a promising pathway for developing advanced CC architectures for next‐generation high‐performance AFLMBs.