Solid-state battery breakthrough could greatly extend longevity

[Shawn Knight]

What just happened? Researchers from the University of New South Wales in Australia and Yokohama National University in Japan have identified a new type of positive electrode material that could lead to incredibly durable solid-state batteries.

Solid-state batteries afford a number of benefits over traditional lithium-ion packs, and use both solid electrodes and solid electrolytes instead of the liquid or gel-like electrolyte found in lithium-ions. Durability has been a sticking point, however, as repeated charging can cause irreversible damage that makes them unfit for commercial use.

In lab testing, a 300mAh battery outfitted with the new positive electrode material experienced zero degradation over hundreds of recharge cycles.

Neeraj Sharma, an associate professor from UNSW, said the absence of capacity fading over 400 cycles clearly indicated superior performance of the material compared to those used in conventional all-solid-state cells with layered materials.

The finding also has the potential to drastically reduce the overall cost of batteries, Sharma added, which could be a key cog in the development of advanced electric vehicles.

Many, including BMW engineer Simon Erhard, believe lithium-ion batteries have reached their maximum potential and that solid-state batteries will eventually take over as the industry standard. And it's not just EVs that could benefit from the absence of capacity fade.

Smartphone batteries also wear down over time with use and can eventually impact overall performance if not addressed. The battery in my six-year-old phone can now only reach 77 percent of its capacity relative to when it was new. Would a solid-state battery have held up better over time?

The team's paper on the subject, titled "A near dimensionally invariable high-capacity positive electrode material," has been published in the scientific journal Nature Materials.

The researchers hope that further refining the electrode material will lead to a commercial product that can best current tech in several other categories as well. With any luck, we'll eventually see the tech make it out of the lab and into the real world. Far too often, battery breakthroughs fail to make it to the finish line.

Image credit: Chuttersnap, Kumpan Electric

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/96974-solid-state-battery-breakthrough-could-greatly-extend-longevity.html

 

[scavengerspc]

Fords 6 sq. mile battery plant is going to take this up, apparently.
Solid power seems to be connected to Ford also.

BMW, Ford to get first Solid Power solid-state battery cells by year-end

Solid Power’s cells, which currently use silicon-rich anodes and nickel-cobalt-manganese cathodes, have the potential to hold more energy - thus providing EVs with longer range - and cost less than conventional lithium ion batteries.

europe.autonews.com

Though it might be another 3-4 years until production, It's still plenty of time to paint a bleak picture for the future of Lithium-ion batteries in cars.
Not to mention the whiny, high-pitched narcissistic drones that always accompany those discussions.

 

[d5aqoep]

Apple will absolutely HATE this technology and will stubbornly continue using current battery tech till EU and India arm-twist them again by passing legislations. Why would they want to let go of steady stream of battery replacement revenue?

 

[ColdSoup]

The press release from UNSW states 300mAh/g and doesn't give a voltage. They could be using a 10mAh cell at 1V for all we know because it's given as a mass scaled figure. This doesn't really tell us anything about how good these might be. 400 cycles is also where traditional Li-ion batteries show very little degradation when charging cycles are well managed and packs are balanced.

I think we should get an update on this when the university makes it to 1000 charge/discharge cycles and publishes real numbers on capacity.

 

[letsgoiowa]

Apple will absolutely HATE this technology and will stubbornly continue using current battery tech till EU and India arm-twist them again by passing legislations. Why would they want to let go of steady stream of battery replacement revenue?

It's ok, they will continue to make iOS more and more bloated and focus less on optimizing it for older devices as to make them entirely unusable. After all, if your phone is at 40% CPU utilization in the background from a very heavy OS you can end up with a poor battery.

 

[RudyBob]

A well a everybody's heard about the could
C-c-c could, could, could, C-c-c could, could, could,'s the could's the word
A well a could, could, could, the could is the word
A well a could, could, could, well the could is the word
A well a could, could, could, b-could's the word
A well a could, could, could, well the could is the word
A well a could, could, c-could's the word
A well a could, could, could, b-could's the word
A well a could, could, could, well the could is the word
A well a could, could, c-could's the word

 

[WhiteLeaff]

We've been stuck in this "could, would" for a few decades now... wake me up when these projects get off the ground...

 

[m4a4]

Yeah, not seeing anything comparable to real world numbers has this sound like every other battery tech breakthrough announcement this past decade; a bunch of nothing.

 

[mbk34]

There are loads of advantages for solid state over lithium batteries. They have much higher energy density. They're made of more readily available materials so hopefully cheaper. The big advantage to me though is that they don't burst into flame in the middle of the night. I have a moderately large (1800Wh) lithium pack on my electric unicycle and it's a continual worry that it might burst into flame in the middle of the night. Longevity of the battery is less of an issue to me when it tends to be the useless BMS systems that kill the packs prematurely.

 

[umbala]

Has it been three months already?? Time for another pie in the sky battery tech. How many of these so called "battery breakthroughs" have we had in the past two decades? Twenty? Fifty? Eighty? How many of them are actually being sold anywhere? Yeah, that's right; ZERO.

This reminds me of the fusion "breakthrough" announcement from yesterday. After 50+ years of research they can finally claim a net gain in energy... what a breakthrough! Except for the fact that they can only run the reaction for 5 seconds or less and can't actually collect any of that energy to convert it into electricity. That part will take another 50+ years. Same thing with this battery nonsense, it's always just a few years away but never actually arrives.

 

[scavengerspc]

We've been stuck in this "could, would" for a few decades now... wake me up when these projects get off the ground...

You mean like pretty much every tech breakthrough?
Seriously, someone should hire you immediately for your uncanny ability to... predict the past.

Time for another pie in the sky battery tech

Truth is, the pie isn't in the sky. It's in Louisville, Colorado and Stanton, Tennessee.

How many of these so called "battery breakthroughs" have we had in the past two decades? Twenty? Fifty?

Such as?

This reminds me of the fusion "breakthrough" announcement from yesterday.

Yeah, see. It shouldn't.

 

[kiwigraeme]

The press release from UNSW states 300mAh/g and doesn't give a voltage. They could be using a 10mAh cell at 1V for all we know because it's given as a mass scaled figure. This doesn't really tell us anything about how good these might be. 400 cycles is also where traditional Li-ion batteries show very little degradation when charging cycles are well managed and packs are balanced.

I think we should get an update on this when the university makes it to 1000 charge/discharge cycles and publishes real numbers on capacity.

Yeah looked it up : The battery capacity of the lithium-ion system is mainly determined by the specific capacities of positive electrodes in the range of 150–200 mAh g−1
so they claim 300 mAh g−1 and reaching 750 Wh kg−1

You can search Li8/7Ti2/7V4/7O2

there are other similar ones like Li6.4La3Zr1.4Ta0.6Othe (LLZTO)

Probably lots of variations - the main thing about the one about to volume is near constant ( no swelling etc) and minimum structural change

 

[maxxcool7421]

Has it been three months already?? Time for another pie in the sky battery tech. How many of these so called "battery breakthroughs" have we had in the past two decades? Twenty? Fifty? Eighty? How many of them are actually being sold anywhere? Yeah, that's right; ZERO.

This reminds me of the fusion "breakthrough" announcement from yesterday. After 50+ years of research they can finally claim a net gain in energy... what a breakthrough! Except for the fact that they can only run the reaction for 5 seconds or less and can't actually collect any of that energy to convert it into electricity. That part will take another 50+ years. Same thing with this battery nonsense, it's always just a few years away but never actually arrives.

Totally should just stop all research and kill ourselves as you suggest

 

[Edster]

Has it been three months already?? Time for another pie in the sky battery tech. How many of these so called "battery breakthroughs" have we had in the past two decades? Twenty? Fifty? Eighty? How many of them are actually being sold anywhere? Yeah, that's right; ZERO.

This reminds me of the fusion "breakthrough" announcement from yesterday. After 50+ years of research they can finally claim a net gain in energy... what a breakthrough! Except for the fact that they can only run the reaction for 5 seconds or less and can't actually collect any of that energy to convert it into electricity. That part will take another 50+ years. Same thing with this battery nonsense, it's always just a few years away but never actually arrives.

The original lithium ion took 10 years to go from synthesis to commercialization. That was when there was close to no competition in the rechargable battery space. But also look at the considerable time it also took, and progress, for battery to go from powering Gameboys to actual cars. Over the time frame, there was probably a 3 or 4 times increase in battery density too, plus odds bit of improvement along the way in manufacturing and additives.

The point is, new battery tech needs to not only need to be a viable product, it also needs to be compete with a technology that is has over 30 years of development post-commercialization.

 

[Trapped Nowhere]

Can't believe I've been reading these battery articles on techspot for over 10 years lol

 

[ColdSoup]

Yeah looked it up : The battery capacity of the lithium-ion system is mainly determined by the specific capacities of positive electrodes in the range of 150–200 mAh g−1
so they claim 300 mAh g−1 and reaching 750 Wh kg−1

You can search Li8/7Ti2/7V4/7O2

there are other similar ones like Li6.4La3Zr1.4Ta0.6Othe (LLZTO)

Probably lots of variations - the main thing about the one about to volume is near constant ( no swelling etc) and minimum structural change

Yes this is true. My main point is that the actual scaling of capacity is unproven from this research. There is nothing to indicate the university can actually build a battery of any useful usable capacity with the info they shared. The data is very incomplete. If it doesn't scale in actual practice, a cell might only store 1-2Wh which is less than half of current Li-ion cells. Maybe it works great, but given they aren't touting the success of scaling, I doubt they are able to at present.

 

[redgarl]

Hydro-Quebec has already made all these breakthru like years ago. They are working on creating the Solid State batteries of the future. From the lead researcher there, I would have expected those batteries to be COTS in a few years, but now, I don't know. The US seems to be holding this whole venture back just because it is in Quebec... what a waste...

 

[kiwigraeme]

Yes this is true. My main point is that the actual scaling of capacity is unproven from this research. There is nothing to indicate the university can actually build a battery of any useful usable capacity with the info they shared. The data is very incomplete. If it doesn't scale in actual practice, a cell might only store 1-2Wh which is less than half of current Li-ion cells. Maybe it works great, but given they aren't touting the success of scaling, I doubt they are able to at present.

Yeah there is about 5 main things batteries need to do - plus others - Like being able to charge fast enough etc .
But given the trillion dollar industry not just EVs, back storage backup.
I have hopes given all the research happening.

It will save a lot of nature in developing countries - solar plus batteries and simple cooking tech - will save destruction of trees etc .
I mean OLED was a fairy tail at one time.

Plus tech normally meant to be x% and or Y% better/cheaper to be disruptive ( some figures out there somewhere ) - just slotting batteries into a car - probably means - updating software , charging stations etc etc- ignoring factory problems

 

[Pensiveclown]

I love how the EV haters are hoping so badly that every new green technology fails. They are begging for it to fail. They want it to fail. Can't wait to see them disappointed.

 

[thelatestmodel]

Sounds great! Can't wait to never hear about it again, as usual.

 

[yeeeeman]

Frankly, it's a bit of a shameful situation, with all this technology, we can't make a safe, durable and high density energy storage device.

 

[p51d007]

Story number 3,489 of "better battery life", that is YEARS (if not decades) before it comes to reality.

 

[Feng Lengshun]

> Researchers from the University

And just like that, thrown into the bin. There is so many "breakthrough" energy material/storage that I'm not even going to bother unless it's a company and they've proven to be economic, scaleable, and has a customer.

 

[ZedRM]

The battery in my six-year-old phone can now only reach 77 percent of its capacity relative to when it was new. Would a solid-state battery have held up better over time?

Quick answer: Yes.

 

[JamesBlond]

Lets hope the material does not cost the lives of kids in Africa