Editor’s note: Electric technology is the future of the green earth, and battery technology is the foundation of electric technology and the key to restricting the large-scale development of electric technology. The current mainstream battery technology is lithium-ion batteries, which have good energy density and high efficiency. However, lithium is a rare element with high cost and limited resources. At the same time, as the use of renewable energy sources grows, the energy density of lithium-ion batteries is no longer sufficient. how to respond? Mayank Jain has taken stock of some battery technologies that may be used in the future. The original article was published on medium with the title: The Future of Battery Technology
The earth is full of energy, and we are doing everything we can to capture and make good use of that energy. Although we have done a better job in the transition to renewable energy, we have not made much progress in storing energy.
At present, the highest standard of battery technology is lithium-ion batteries. This battery seems to have the best energy density, high efficiency (about 99%), and long life.
So what’s wrong? As the renewable energy we capture continues to grow, the energy density of lithium-ion batteries is no longer sufficient.
Since we can continue to produce batteries in batches, this doesn’t seem to be a big deal, but the problem is that lithium is a relatively rare metal, so its cost is not low. Although battery production costs are falling, the need for energy storage is also increasing rapidly.
We have reached a point where once the lithium ion battery is manufactured, it will have a huge impact on the energy industry.
The higher energy density of fossil fuels is a fact, and this is a huge influencing factor that hinders the transition to a total dependence on renewable energy. We need batteries that emit more energy than our weight.
How lithium-ion batteries work
The working mechanism of lithium batteries is similar to ordinary AA or AAA chemical batteries. They have anode and cathode terminals, and an electrolyte in between. Unlike ordinary batteries, the discharge reaction in a lithium-ion battery is reversible, so the battery can be recharged repeatedly.
The cathode (+ terminal) is made of lithium iron phosphate, the anode (-terminal) is made of graphite, and graphite is made of carbon. Electricity is just the flow of electrons. These batteries generate electricity by moving lithium ions between the anode and cathode.
When charged, the ions move to the anode, and when discharged, the ions run to the cathode.
This movement of ions causes the movement of electrons in the circuit, so lithium ion movement and electron movement are related.
Silicon anode battery
Many large car companies like BMW have been investing in the development of silicon anode batteries. Like ordinary lithium-ion batteries, these batteries use lithium anodes, but instead of carbon-based anodes, they use silicon.
As an anode, silicon is better than graphite because it requires 4 carbon atoms to hold lithium, and 1 silicon atom can hold 4 lithium ions. This is a major upgrade … making silicon 3 times stronger than graphite.
Nevertheless, the use of lithium is still a double-edged sword. This material is still expensive, but it is also easier to transfer production facilities to silicon cells. If the batteries are completely different, the factory will have to be completely redesigned, which will cause the attractiveness of switching to be slightly reduced.
Silicon anodes are made by treating sand to produce pure silicon, but the biggest problem researchers currently face is that silicon anodes swell when used. This can cause the battery to degrade too quickly. It is also difficult to mass produce anodes.
Graphene battery
Graphene is a type of carbon flake that uses the same material as a pencil, but it costs a lot of time to attach graphite to the flakes. Graphene is praised for its excellent performance in many use cases, and batteries are one of them.
Some companies are working on graphene batteries that can be fully charged in minutes and discharge at 33 times faster than lithium-ion batteries. This is of great value for electric vehicles.
Foam battery
At present, traditional batteries are two-dimensional. They are either stacked like a lithium battery or rolled up like a typical AA or lithium-ion battery.
The foam battery is a new concept that involves the movement of electric charge in 3D space.
This 3-dimensional structure can speed up the charging time and increase the energy density, these are extremely important qualities of the battery. Compared with most other batteries, foam batteries have no harmful liquid electrolytes.
Foam batteries use solid electrolytes instead of liquid electrolytes. This electrolyte not only conducts lithium ions, but also insulates other electronic devices.
The anode that holds the battery’s negative charge is made of foamed copper and coated with the required active material.
A solid electrolyte is then applied around the anode.
Finally, a so-called “positive paste” is used to fill the gaps inside the battery.
Aluminum Oxide Battery
These batteries have one of the largest energy densities of any battery. Its energy is more powerful and lighter than current lithium-ion batteries. Some people claim that these batteries can provide 2,000 kilometers of electric vehicles. What is this concept? For reference, the maximum cruising range of Tesla is about 600 kilometers.
The problem with these batteries is that they cannot be charged. They produce aluminum hydroxide and release energy through the reaction of aluminum and oxygen in a water-based electrolyte. The use of batteries consumes aluminum as an anode.
Sodium battery
Currently, Japanese scientists are working on making batteries that use sodium instead of lithium.
This would be disruptive, as sodium batteries are theoretically 7 times more efficient than lithium batteries. Another huge advantage is that sodium is the sixth richest element in the earth’s reserves, compared to lithium, which is a rare element.
Post time: Dec-02-2019