Even as conventional lithium-ion battery prices decline, there are several new technologies being developed. One of the original inventors of the lithium-ion battery, John Goodenough, who is now a hale 96, is involved in a new lithium-glass battery.
A recently published paper in the Journal of the American Chemical Society titled “Nontraditional, Safe, High Voltage Rechargeable Cells of Long Cycle Life” (April 24, 2018) offers a glimpse into future battery technology. The following are some of the highlights of this new invention (via Axios and the JACS article):
1. It operates at room temperature.
2. It is a safe cell battery since it uses no liquid electrolyte.
3. It has “… double the energy density of existing lithium-ion…” batteries.
4. It can be both fast charged and fast discharged.
5. It is an “…all-solid-state rechargeable battery cell….”
6. It uses lithium.
7. It has a plasticizer able to react to changes in volume and store Lithium ions.
8. It uses a low cost oxide host cathode (meaning no Cobalt is used).
9. It can be charged to 5-volts. “The cell can be charged to a high voltage versus a lithium anode because of the added charge of the EDLCs [electrostatic double-layer capacitors].”
10. It has a long cycle life having achieved over 23,000 cycles. If cycled daily in an electric car, this would imply a usable life of 63-years.
11. Battery cell capacity increases as the number of cycles increases. This happens because the “…Li+- glass is not reduced on contact with metallic lithium, [thus] no passivating interface layer contributes to a capacity fade; instead, the discharge capacity increases with cycle number as a result of dipole polarization in the Li+-glass electrolyte leading to a capacity increase of the Li+-glass/plasticizer EDLC.”
12. It has the ability to retain a charge when unplugged.
In short, this is a low-cost, safe, high-energy-density, long-life, and low-degradation battery. It overcomes every single problem of current battery technology. In my opinion, this happens as a result of overcoming both the lithium-ion SEI (solid electrolyte interphase) battery problem and material degradation due to volume expansion.
Professor Goodenough had this to say regarding current lithium-ion battery technology, “There are three basic problems with the lithium-ion battery. First, you can’t charge it fast enough. Second, you can’t overcharge it without getting oxygen. And third, it’s got a flammable electrolyte with a window that’s not big enough. If you want energy density, you’ve got to have the voltage times the current.”
Several manufacturing companies are interested in the new battery technology, and are currently working in getting it ready for mass production; however, a working product will [only] be ready in a few more years from now.
More specifically in March 2017, Professor Goodenough had this to say, “…we have done many tests with laboratory cells. Manufacturing a marketable battery cell will take about 2 years of development by a competent battery company, but we have over 50 companies showing interest to be able to perform tests of our results. I am optimistic that our tests will be verified and that product development will begin soon.” These “…battery companies have shown interest in validating our findings and marketing products.”
Non-confirmed comments suggest that Tesla is aware of this technology.
[Read more here]
These new batteries will have a much longer life than conventional lithium-ion ("a usable life of 63 years"!!!!) and will therefore, when manufacturing gets up to speed, be much cheaper.
In 10 or 15 years' time, batteries will be ubiquitous: in our houses, in businesses, in out transport, in micro-grids, at substations in conventional grids, and at wind and solar farms.
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