The widespread adoption of electric vehicles and increased usage of portable electronic devices have created an urgent need for lithium-ion batteries to simultaneously enhance both energy density and power density. As one of the most important electrochemical energy storage technologies in modern society, lithium-ion batteries have had a profound impact on numerous sectors, including portable electronic devices, power tools, and transportation. With the global energy mix undergoing an accelerated shift toward renewable energy and the electric vehicle market expanding rapidly, higher demands are being placed on the performance of lithium-ion batteries. These batteries must not only offer high energy density to extend operating range but also possess high power density to enable fast charging and discharging. A thick electrode design can significantly increase the mass fraction of active material in the battery, thereby improving energy density.

Thick electrode designs effectively increase the proportion of active material, representing a key pathway to achieving high energy density. However, the elongated electron and ion transport paths within thick electrodes lead to severe polarization, making it difficult to sustain high power output. Recent advancements in nanoscale building blocks (nanoparticles, nanosheets, nanowires, etc.) offer new solutions to this challenge. During battery assembly, severe agglomeration and interfacial side reactions prevent these building blocks from delivering their full potential, resulting in performance significantly below theoretical expectations at thick electrode scales. Advances in nanotechnology have provided a solution. By constructing active materials into nanoscale building blocks and forming them into engineered thick electrode structures, it is possible to significantly reduce the diffusion distance of lithium ions within the electrode, increase the number of electrochemical active sites, and mitigate the volume expansion of electrode materials during cycling. Although thin electrodes have demonstrated advantages, the use of thick electrodes still poses a risk of agglomeration. Consequently, research on thick electrodes has long focused on the design of the building blocks themselves.

Therefore, in response to the urgent needs of lithium-ion battery research, this paper shifts the focus from individual material design to the co-design of 'nanomaterials and electrode stacking configurations'. By treating the elementary structure of electrode materials as a design unit and regulating its assembly within thick electrodes, the study aims to construct a multiscale transport network capable of simultaneously achieving efficient electron transport and rapid ion migration. This paper organically integrates elementary structures with thick electrode design and systematically reviews the latest advancements in this emerging research field. This approach provides new insights and a theoretical foundation for the assembly of elementary structures and the design of thick electrodes in next-generation high-energy and high-power lithium-ion batteries.