Lithium is considered to be a strategically important metal due to a number of its unique properties. In terms of power engineering, the most important quality is that lithium successfully combines value of standard electrode potential and density, which makes it indispensable for the production of storage batteries. U.S. The Geological Survey publishes Lithium Statistics and Information1 on a yearly basis. The last issue was published...
Surface coating of cathode materials has been widely investigated with a view to enhance the life and rate capability of lithium-ion batteries, but computationally identifying materials with suitable ionic conductivity can be a very challenging task: creating a more efficient cathode involves addressing a myriad of factors simultaneously, from keeping the cathode of a battery electrically and ionically conductive to making sure that...
Global consumption of the alkali metal lithium is growing rapidly. During the past decade annual production of lithium has risen to 85,000 tons. This is mainly due to its use in batteries of electric vehicles as well as laptop batteries and smartphones. Several million tons of lithium are mined in countries such as Australia, Argentina and Chili every year, which account for more than 80% of global production. Chile has the world’s...
Cobalt has been used as cathode material for a very long time as it offers high conductivity and stable structural stability throughout charge cycling. There are, however, two major drawbacks attached to the use of cobalt: the high cost and political instability in the regions where cobalt is mined. Therefore, scientists are putting a lot of effort into finding ways to minimise or eliminate the use of cobalt in batteries. Now (2020),...
Batteries are a very important factor when it comes to de-carbonizing electric power, which is in ever increasing demand for smart phones, laptops, cars and the power grid. The Li-ion technology is currently among the technologies most frequently employed for energy storage on batteries. It is used in electronic devices as well as electric cars. However, there are several drawbacks associated with the use of Li-ion batteries, the most...
Scientists have known for quite some time that when resistance to the flow of ions in solid electrolytes is reduced the efficiency of fuel cells and batteries can be improved. The only obstacle to achieving this goal is that so far, science has failed to discover which material properties are responsible for the resistance. It is common knowledge that solid electrolyte materials consist of many small crystalline regions, so-called...
Batteries made from a nickel-metal-hydride or using lithium-ions as conductive membranes appeared in the early 1990s, fighting nose-to-nose to gain customer's acceptance. Today, lithium-ion batteries are the most widely used and most promising industry. Local distortions which occur in the atomic structure of the electrode during operation are responsible for the rapid storage and release of lithium ion - a discovery that has helped in...
For years engineers have tried to discover new methods of improving the life cycle of batteries used in mobile phones, electric vehicles and power grids so that they can store renewable energy for future use in a more efficient way. So far, their efforts have not proved successful as more reliable cathode materials have yet to be invented. To date, the typical strategy for enhancing cathode materials has been to alter their chemical...
Designing a battery with optimal components can be a challenging task, as there are numerous ways to achieve a decent result. The most difficult part is to find the components that work best together. Even with the most modern computers, scientists so far haven’t been able to precisely model the chemical characteristics of every molecule that could prove to be the basis of a next-generation battery material. Now (2019), researchers at...
Today, batteries play an important role in powering electrical devices, tools and cars. Soon, they might even be able to supply energy to entire girds. The reason for this positive development is large battery devices called flow batteries which use tanks of electrolytes capable of storing enough electricity to power thousands of homes for many hours. However, most flow batteries rely on vanadium, a somewhat rare and expensive metal,...
