the holy grail of lithium batteries

Last year, I wrote an article about a battery that can change the world, about the development of ashdolly --
If damaged, the state lithium battery will not catch fire.
Recently, I wrote a different approach to the problem of lithium combustion
Ion batteries, which quickly dissipate the heat released from the fire before the battery spreads.
With more electric vehicles on the road, and power companies looking for better options to store power from intermittent renewable sources, better battery development is critical.
In addition, lithium-
Through a variety of consumer electronics, ion batteries are already everywhere in our lives.
The three key issues the company is working on are safety, energy density and cost.
Safety mainly involves lithium-
The ion battery will catch fire if damaged.
The two stories mentioned earlier are mainly focused on this aspect of the problem.
The problem of energy density the ability to store energy in a specific volume (or weight).
Compared with liquid fuel, the energy density of the battery is low.
For example, the bulk energy density of gasoline is about 100 times that of Li-
Ion battery pack.
However, compared to the internal combustion engine, the higher efficiency of the motor greatly reduces the gap in available energy.
Finally, batteries have historically been an expensive way of storing energy.
According to the Energy Information Administration, in recent years, the cost of installing large equipment has
Battery storage systems of scale are typically thousands of dollars per kilowatt (kW).
In contrast, the capital cost of generating power from power plants may be less than $1,000/kWh.
It is important that reducing the cost of battery storage will be a key driver for utilities seeking to incorporate higher levels of intermittent renewable energy into their power mix.
It\'s not surprising that the company is trying to solve these battery challenges.
But a solution to one problem can create another problem.
Energy density is considered. Lithium-
The energy density of metal batteries is much higher than that of lithium
Ion batteries using lithium
A metal electrode instead of a graphite electrode.
However, whenever the battery is charged, a lithium deposition known as a branch crystal can spontaneously grow from a metal electrode.
If these branches bridge the gap between the anode and the cathode (
Two opposite electrodes in the battery)
Short circuit results.
This can cause the battery to fail, resulting in a fire or explosion. The lithium-
The ion battery solved the problem.
The problem can be solved by replacing lithium.
Carbon electrode with layered sheet structure (i. e. , graphite)
It carries discrete tiny lithium ions between layers.
However, the result is lower lithium storage capacity than a battery using solid, continuous lithiumMetal electrodes.
The ideal battery will contain a solid lithium electrode, while avoiding the problem of shoot crystal.
A company called Zeta energy, using a technology license from a top university, believes it has created such a solution.
I recently spoke to Charles Maslin, CEO of Zeta Energy, who explained that Zeta is the sixth Greek letter, corresponding to the sixth element carbon in the periodic table.
The dynamic potential is also a measure of the effective charge on the surface of nanoparticles.
In an interview I had with Maslin, he described the new battery with his peers
10 years of research and testing data leading to its development were reviewed.
The key innovation of the Zita battery is the hybrid anode oxidation of graphene and carbon nanotubes.
The three resulting
The size carbon anode is close to the theoretical maximum value of lithium metal storage-about 10 times the storage capacity of graphite for lithiumion batteries.
According to published research, the mixed anode is the best-
Known electrical conductors, when the battery is charged, the lithium metal is deposited in the hole between the side wall of the carbon nano tube and the nano tube.
These are chemically bound to the surface of graphene, which is chemically bound to the copper substrate. The graphene-Carbon nanotubes
The copper connection does not introduce additional resistance, which is usually produced on the interface when the electrode material is coated on the copper in the battery.
This means that there is no heat generated in this interface.
Combination of branches-
Unlike graphite batteries, free electrodes with a seamless interface enable fast charging and dischargingbased lithium-
Fast charging can result in an ion Battery formed on graphite by lithium crystals.
No resistance at the interface means that electrons can reach the electrode faster.
As a result, the Qita battery can be safely charged within minutes.
Despite the breakthrough, more energy, less cost, and the need to build the ideal battery is not just to perfect the anode.
It is necessary to match the cathode of a large-capacity anode to release an increase in energy density, but the current cathode does not have enough capacity to match the lithium metal anode.
The second key innovation of the Zetas is the mixed cathode made of sulfur and carbon, which has a capacity of 8 times that of the current cathode based on metal oxide.
Therefore, the anode of the tower
Cathode combination means lithium encapsulated-
Sulfur batteries with three times the capacity of lithium energy storage-ion batteries.
In addition, the Zetas have eliminated the use of expensive metals such as cobalt in batteries.
This means a significant reduction in battery costs.
Despite the efforts of others to develop sulfur
Based on the cathode for decades, they just can\'t get it to cycle well, and the battery dies after a few hundred cycles at most.
Maslin explained that the Zetas have successfully stabilized the sulfur cathode and pointed out that the test results show that the Zetas can be cycled with minimal capacity loss in thousands of cycles.
In addition, lithium Zetas-
Sulfur Battery
Discharge to any apparent level and maintain a considerable amount of time, thus having an excellent shelf life.
A major problem with battery performance is self
Discharge-you charge the battery and then store it, but when you use it later, there is only a small part left to store the battery capacity.
According to the Qita measurement, unlike ordinary lithium, it is estimated that more than 90% of the battery capacity will remain unchanged after 10 years of full charge
The ion battery has a capacity of up to 10% during the same storage period.
This means that the Qita battery can work after almost any period of storage.
In conclusion, the Qita battery solves the problem of energy density and safety.
The results of the tests published in several scientific journals, including Nature, suggest that the Zita battery has: conclusions that if their research and test results are accurate, Zita energy may remain
The technology seems to address multiple shortcomings of lithium at the moment.
Ion batteries and did this at a lower price.
If battery storage is sought to eliminate widespread adoption of renewable energy utilities such as wind and solar, these are the breakthroughs that need to be made.