5 New Battery Technologies That Could CHANGE EVERYTHING
Electric Future
Sep 27, 2020
Batteries are everywhere in today’s hyperconnected electrically propelled society.
Sign up https://brilliant.org/ElectricFuture/
First 200 people get 20% off annual premium subscription.
Thanks to Brilliant for sponsoring this video!
What if your electric car could travel 1000 miles on a single charge, charge in 10 minutes, and last for 1 million miles?
Today
just about every electric car uses lithium ion batteries. They’re
pretty good, but ultimately are heavy and have long charging times for
the amount of energy they can store.
According to Elon Musk,
battery modules are the main limiting factor in electric vehicle life.
In 2019 he said the Tesla Model 3 drive unit is rated for 1 million
miles, but the battery isn’t as long lasting.
To handle the
predicted demand explosion for electric vehicles over the coming
decades, we’ll need to create a breakthrough battery that is cheaper,
longer lasting, more durable, and more efficient. We must also address
the issues of political and environmental sustainability to ensure
batteries remain tenable in an increasingly electric future.
Over
80% of world’s lithium deposits are found in China, and current
technology also relies heavily on cobalt, an element mostly found in the
Democratic Republic of Congo.
After Tesla’s recent battery day,
where Elon Musk announced a larger, tabless 4680 battery cell with
improved energy density, greater ease of manufacturing, and lower cost.
The world’s attention is now more focused on batteries than ever before,
but Tesla isn’t the only show in town.
Lithium air batteries.
Metal air batteries have been around for a while. You might find a
little zinc air button cell in a hearing aid, for example, but scaled up
aluminum and lithium air chemistries are also promising for the
automotive and aerospace industries. The potential for lightweight
batteries with high energy storage makes this battery technology
promising. Lithium air batteries could have a maximum theoretical
specific energy of 3,460 W h/kg , almost 10 times more than lithium ion.
NASA researchers have also been investigating lithium air batteries for
use in aircraft. This technology still has a long way to go before your
take your next business trip is in an electric plane.
Nanotech
Batteries. Nanotechnology has been a buzzword for several decades, but
is now finding applications in everything from nanoelectronics to
biomedical engineering, and body armor to extra-slippery clothing irons.
Nanomaterials make use of particles and structures 1-100 nanometers in
size, essentially one size up from the molecular scale. Carbon
nanostructures also show great promise. Graphene is one of the most
exciting of these. Amprius go one stage further with their anodes of
‘100% silicon nanowire’. The maker claims that they can achieve 500
Wh/kg which is in the range suitable for enabling electric aircraft in
partnership with Airbus. Nanomaterial research is promising
Lithium
sulphur batteries are one emerging technology that can offer greatly
improved energy densities compared to lithium-ion. The theoretical
maximum specific energy of this chemistry is 2,567 Wh/kg compared to
lithium ion’s 350 Wh/kg maximum.
Solid state electrolytes. A
common theme in emerging technologies so far has been researchers’
desire to develop solid state electrolytes. These would replace
flammable organic liquids with stable, crystalline or glassy-state
solids, or polymer-base. It is hoped that using these solid electrolytes
would enable the use of metallic lithium electrodes to provide higher
output voltages and allow for increased energy density. Panasonic have
also been looking into solid state electrolytes. It is notable that
Tesla have been partnered with Panasonic in their existing lithium-ion
manufacturing capacity, but it is Toyota who have publicly announced
their collaboration with Panasonic to develop next generation solid
state batteries. Samsung too are working on solid state batteries.
Dual
carbon batteries. Two carbon electrodes and a non-toxic electrolyte
with the ability to extract more power than from conventional lithium
ion, and their ability to charge 20 times faster, and these lithium-ion
variants could be the future for electric vehicles.
Better
batteries are also important for the advancement of stationary storage
from renewable energy sources such as solar power. Tesla is also making
headway into this sector, with products like the powerwall home battery,
and powerpack commercial energy storage products.
The
technologies discussed in this video could have huge implications on
different battery powered transportation options besides just electric
cars. Imagine the potential in everything from electric bikes to
electric scooters and electric boats to electric airplanes. Consumer
electronics also stand to experience vast improvements in battery life
in devices such as smart phones, laptops, cameras, and more. The future
is electric!
