Material Design For Better Batteries
However, there is not just one solid-state technology. Samsung, for example, is experimenting with silver-carbon anodes to counteract the formation of dendrites that occurs in lithium solid-state batteries. These electro-chemical lithium deposits on the electrodes grow into small needles which pierce the separator between the anode and cathode and can trigger a short circuit.
Opinions also differ with regard to solid electrolytes. The most commonly used are polymers and sulfides . Solid Power, for example, is backing sulfide solid-state batteries exclusively. They have the highest conductivity and can be produced using conventional roll-to-roll methods.
Basically, the most important requirements for solid electrolytes are good ionic conductivity combined with a high electrical resistance and adequate mechanical âclose contactâ at the interfaces to the electrodes, which must remain structurally and electro-chemically stable during hundreds of charging and discharging cycles. The challenge is now to find material combinations that fulfill these requirements optimally. That costs a lot of time and money.
Study Finds Startling Inequities In End
Long-lasting, quick-charging batteries are essential to the expansion of the electric vehicle market, but todays lithium-ion batteries fall short of whats needed theyre too heavy, too expensive and take too long to charge.
For decades, researchers have tried to harness the potential of solid-state, lithium-metal batteries, which hold substantially more energy in the same volume and charge in a fraction of the time compared to traditional lithium-ion batteries.
A lithium-metal battery is considered the holy grail for battery chemistry because of its high capacity and energy density, said Xin Li, associate professor of materials science at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Science . But the stability of these batteries has always been poor.
Now, Li and his team have designed a stable, lithium-metal, solid-state battery that can be charged and discharged at least 10,000 times far more cycles than have been previously demonstrated at a high current density. The researchers paired the new design with a commercial high energy density cathode material.
This battery technology could increase the lifetime of electric vehicles to that of the gasoline cars 10 to 15 years without the need to replace the battery. With its high current density, the battery could pave the way for electric vehicles that can fully charge within 10 to 20 minutes.
The research is published in Nature.
The New Batteries That Will Make You An Electric Car Believer
Once just science projects, these new batteries are about to reinvent EVs.
Longer range, faster charging, less range degradation and a lower sticker price: That’s all that new battery technologies are to bring to electric cars. And while, on a practical basis, I remain more enthused about charging developments like GM’s recent expansion with Pilot and EVgo or Tesla Superchargers embracing the world, here are some new battery technologies that are strong rivals for my enthusiasm.
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‘holy Grail’ Of Batteries
The possibilities are endless for next-gen technologies such as electric vehicles and robots. While these two are powered by special types of batteries, it’s important to consider their quality all the time.
According to a report by The Independent, the Drexel University engineers have unexpectedly arrived with a method upon developing a technique to improve the state of the lithium-sulfur batteries.
Compared to the regular lithium-ion cells that are commonly used in several applications, these batteries offer a lot of advantages such as cheaper cost and longer life cycle.
From EVs to smartphones, these batteries can be used in some machines and gadgets. The only downside that scientists deal with using it is its instability. With that, it might not be suited for commercial uses.
Every charging cycle for these cells is said to be contributing to the change in its size by about 78%.
Green Car Congress reported that the Drexel team came up with the idea of developing a stable Li-S battery with carbonate electrolyte. Aside from focusing on bringing more efficiency to these batteries, it’s also important to consider their impact on the environment.
The usual Li-ion batteries can spark concerns regarding their disposal that’s why there’s a proper way to get rid of it after it serves its purpose.
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Sulfur Cathode In Batteries
The Drexel researchers were finding a potential solution to avoid the chemical reactions from happening when the battery is charging. Instead of arriving at the design of the cathode of the battery, they came up with a discovery involving sulfur’s “rare” chemical reaction.
This brought monoclinic gamma-phase sulfur into the test. It was found out that their recent experiment prevented the formation of polysulfides.
“At first it was hard to believe that this is what we were detecting because in all previous research monoclinic sulfur has been unstable under 95C,” research co-author Rahul Pai said.
He continued that there were previous studies about the monoclinic gamma sulfur. However, the previous findings revealed that it could only stabilize for about 20 to 30 minutes.
As such, the test needs further assessment. Later, the scientists developed a cathode that does not affect the battery’s performance. After a year, there’s no indication that the chemical phase in the battery has changed.
Per Drexel researchers, the sulfur cathode became a game-changer even undergoing 4,000 cycles of charging and discharging. The normal lithium-ion battery can do that in 10 years of regular usage.
The new cathode showed no signs of degradation. Instead, it remained stable and it led to the conclusion that it was three times more stable than its Li-ion counterpart.
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Lithium Ion Is Far From Done
Sila Nanotechnologies is replacing the graphite anode that forms a lot of the bulk and about 15% of the weight of today’s lithium-ion batteries with a form of silicon that it claims will give battery cells a 20 to 40% increase in energy density while also charging faster. That change would be roughly analogous to a Ford F-150 getting 25 MPG this year but 35 MPG next model year, an unheard of jump.
Mercedes looks like the first customer to offer the Sila tech as an elite option in the new electric EQG in 2025. Energy density is especially important in heavy vehicles like the EQG because their lardiness tends to magnify the shortcomings of current batteries that have to be large and heavy to move something large and heavy even a decent number of miles, setting up a decided unvirtuous cycle.
Sila claims traditional lithium-ion battery tech has flatlined in terms of energy density.
Group14 is another company to watch in the marriage of silicon and lithium, lining up Porsche as a lead partner. OneD is pursuing a strategy of growing silicon nanowires on the graphite anode of a lithium battery. All these approaches leverage the good performance and vast acceptance of lithium battery technologies to move to market apace.
More Tests For Lithium
Furthermore, several tests will still be conducted by the researchers to have a strong grasp of its mechanism. If it will be deemed to be useful for EVs and other technologies, we might see lithium-sulfur batteries in commercial markets someday.
To view the study entitled “Stabilization of gamma sulfur at room temperature to enable the use of carbonate electrolyte in Li-S batteries,” visit Nature.com.
In 2020, Tech Times reported that EVs can take advantage of black phosphorus because of its efficiency in recharging the vehicle.
Last year, the tech site wrote in another report that electric vehicles can also rely on solid-state batteries with pure silicon nodes. Just like sulfur-based cells, they are considered to be cheaper than the common batteries.
This article is owned by Tech Times
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First Off How Do Lithium
In general, batteries have an anode, a cathode, and an electrolyte. Current flows out through the anode, circulates, and then devices connected to the battery use that current before it flows back in through the cathode. From there, charged ions are pulled through the electrolyte material in order to circulate again.
In a lithium-ion battery of the almost ubiquitous design we see today, the anode material is graphite, the most plentiful naturally occurring form of carbon and a lightweight, highly conductive substance. The electrolyte is a lithium-salt liquid that is highly combustible . The cathode is one of various compounds that are made of lithium with select other elements.
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Many different parts contribute to the bulk and burden of lithium-ion batterieswhich means there are a lot of opportunities to improve performance in a way that reduces our dependence on dwindling lithium. Imagine you had a jar of beautiful saffron threads, and you realized just three were left. What would you do? Youd slow down and think about how to most efficiently use them in your recipes. Our jar of lithium is almost empty.
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Researchers have demonstrated a solution to a 40-year problem regarding the creation of a holy grail battery that could radically transform the electric car industry.
The breakthrough involves harnessing the power of lithium-metal batteries, which are capable of holding substantially more energy and charge in a fraction of the time compared to lithium-ion batteries that are currently used in everything from smartphones to Tesla vehicles.
Until now, scientists have been unable to create a lithium-metal battery stable enough to be used in commercial applications.
The development, made by a team at Harvard Universitys School of Engineering and Applied Science , allows this next-generation batter to be charged and discharge at least 10,000 times, which would increase the lifetime of electric vehicles to that of of their gasoline counterparts while simultaneously increasing their range and reducing their charge time.
A lithium-metal battery is considered the holy grail for battery chemistry because of its high capacity and energy density, said Xin Li, an associate professor at SEAS.
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‘holy Grail Discovery’ In Solid
by Tanner Stening, Northeastern University
There are many mysteries still to unravel in the world of quantum mechanics, but scientists at Northeastern believe they’ve made a “holy grail” discovery that could help pave the way for the next generation of electronic devices.
Their findings, published recently in Nature, center mostly on the discovery of a so-called topological axion insulator, a unique state of quantum matter of which researchers previously only theorized existed, according to physicist Arun Bansil, who led a team of researchers at Northeastern involved in the study. There were several dozen scientists from universities around the world involved in the project.
This axion insulating state was realized, Bansil says, by combining certain metals and observing their magnetoelectric response. In this case, researchers used a solid state chip composed of manganese bismuth telluride, which were adhered together in two-dimensional layers, to measure the resulting electric and magnetic properties.
Researchers note that such a finding has implications for a range of technologies, including sensors, switches, computers, and memory storage devices, among many others. The “storage, transportation, and manipulation of magnetic data could become much faster, more robust, and energy-efficient” if scientists can integrate these new topological materials into future devices, the researchers write.
Journal information:
Where Is Saft In The Race To Develop Solid
Saft is well positioned in the top five companies working on solid-state batteries. A crucial factor is that Total, our parent company, views investment in innovation as central to its long term vision. Solid-state technology is also a core element of the European Battery Alliance in which we have joined forces with other industrial champions such as Manz, Siemens, Solvay and Umicore. We have also developed an excellent global network of academic and industrial partners as well as investing in Ionic Materials, a US leader in solid-state electrolytes.
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Managing Homes Dollars And Building Codes As They Go Up In Wildfire Flames
Last year this writer explored the developments at an Israeli tech startup by the name of Addionics. Their R& D is approaching the battery question from a novel angle, by addressing all battery chemistry types rather than just one, such as Lithium-ion .
Battery structure hasn’t changed in over 30 years, so there is a huge opportunity in this sector as trillions of dollars will continue to be invested in creating better batteries, said Moshiel Biton, CEO of Addionics. Given the high demand in the market, even a small change in these key parameters has huge economic value.
Focusing solely on battery chemistry has only brought 3 to 4 percent incremental improvements to the industry every year. While most companies are working to improve batteries through chemistry, the Addionics team is focused on the physics. The company builds smart 3D battery electrodes that significantly improve the performance for any kind of battery chemistry, whether existing or emerging.
This photo taken on March 12, 2021 shows a worker with car batteries at a factory for Xinwangda … Electric Vehicle Battery Co. Ltd, which makes lithium batteries for electric cars and other uses, in Nanjing in China’s eastern Jiangsu province. – China OUT / China OUT
AFP via Getty Images
The Holy Grail Of Lithium Batteries
Building a Better Lithium Battery
Last year I wrote about A Battery That Could Change The World, which addressed the development of a solid-state lithium battery that won’t catch fire if damaged. More recently, I wrote about a different approach to the problem of fires in lithium-ion batteries, which quickly dissipates the heat released from a fire in a cell before it can spread.
Development of better batteries is critical as more electric vehicles hit the roads, and as electric utilities seek better options for storing power from intermittent renewables. In addition, lithium-ion batteries have become ubiquitous in our lives through any number of consumer electronics.
Three key issues that companies are working to address are safety, energy density, and cost. Safety mainly concerns the possibility that lithium-ion batteries can catch fire if damaged. The two aforementioned stories are mostly focused on that aspect of the problem.
The problem of energy density concerns the ability to store energy in a specific volume . Batteries have low energy density compared to liquid fuels. Gasoline, for example, has about 100 times the volumetric energy density of a Li-ion battery pack. However, the greater efficiency of an electric motor versus a combustion engine substantially narrows the gap for usable energy.
It isn’t surprising that companies are working to solve each of these battery challenges. But the solution to one problem can create another.
Solving the Dendrite Problem
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The Holy Grail Of Electrification: The Humble Battery
A rechargeable Lithium-ion battery for the Volkswagen ID.3 electric car is pictured at the … Volkswagen car factory in Zwickau, eastern Germany, on February 25, 2020.
AFP via Getty Images
It might be a hallmark of human history that many profound revolutions arent even recognized until they have long passed the tipping point. One could argue that were seeing that right now, with electrification: the revolution has already taken place. Oil is withering on the vine, electricity is booming, and the 21st century could be witness to one of most monumentally disruptive changes in human history. And our planet and descendants will thank us for it, or perhaps wonder what took us so long.
The move to electric cars has been a long time coming. The broader technology required, for the most part, has come a long way. Solar, wind, hydroelectric, and so forth are all either developing at a fair clip or are already well-commercialized. Thats not to say that theyve arrived. There is still plenty of room for improvement, but were at a place now where most of the technologies involved in the generation and distribution of electrical power in its many applications are viable.
16 April 2021, Berlin: A man removes the plug from a car with plug-in hybrid drive in Berlin-Mitte. … The international auto show in China is held alternately in Shanghai and Beijing, this year from April 21 to 28 in Shanghai. Photo: Christoph Soeder/dpa
dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images
Holy Grail Ev Battery Modeling Technology A Step Closer
A world-first, real-life trial of electric vehicles has helped evolve the development of battery modeling a technology used to accurately predict EV battery lifespan, and something that until now has been extremely difficult to achieve.
Involving battery analytics specialist Silver Power Systems , EV manufacturers and academics, the holy grail of battery modeling is now a step closer to enable OEMs and battery manufacturers to fleet owners and operators to understand how the battery is performing and predict how much it is likely to degrade over the vehicles lifetime
While digital models of EV batteries have been previously created, they have lacked accurate real-world data to back them up. Whats more, not all batteries are born equal, and not all batteries are treated equally throughout their life, degrading at different rates, subject to different drivers and charging routines, further underlining the need for real-world data to be combined with machine-learning based predictive technology.
Since January, some 50 LEVC TX electric taxis and a new EV sports car from the Watt EV Company have collectively traveled over 500,000km as part of the program. Each vehicle has been fitted with Silver Power Systems state-of-the-art data-collecting IoT device, which constantly communicates with the companys cloud-based software.
In the future, SPSs vision is for its technology to digitally optimize EV batteries during their life.
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