lithium-ion batteries tagged posts

Breakthrough in Zinc-based Rechargeable Batteries: A safer, sustainable alternative

Case Western Reserve University researcher advances zinc-sulfur battery technology. Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries power everything from electric vehicles to wearable devices. But new research from Case Western Reserve University suggests that a more sustainable and cost-effective alternative may lie in zinc-based batteries.

In a study published recently in Angewandte Chemie, researchers announced a significant step toward creating high-performance, low-cost zinc-sulfur batteries.

“This research marks a major step forward in the development of safer and more sustainable energy storage solutions,” said Chase Cao, a principal investigator and assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Case School of Engineering...

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Whoever Controls Electrolytes will Pave the way for Electric Vehicles

Team develops a commercially viable and safe gel electrolyte for lithium batteries. Professor Soojin Park, Seoha Nam, a PhD candidate, and Dr. Hye Bin Son from the Department of Chemistry at Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) have achieved a breakthrough in creating a gel electrolyte-based battery that is both stable and commercially viable. Their research was recently published in the international journal Small.

Lithium-ion batteries are extensively utilized in portable electronics and energy storage including electric vehicles. However, the liquid electrolytes used in these batteries pose a significant risk of fire and explosion, prompting ongoing research efforts to find safer alternatives...

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New Battery Technology has Potential to Significantly Reduce Energy Storage Costs

The battery has a longer life span compared to previous sodium-sulphur batteries. Pixabay.

An international team of researchers are hoping that a new, low-cost battery which holds 4X the energy capacity of lithium-ion batteries and is far cheaper to produce will significantly reduce the cost of transitioning to a decarbonised economy.

Led by Dr Shenlong Zhao from the University’s School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, the battery has been made using sodium-sulphur — a type of molten salt that can be processed from seawater — costing much less to produce than lithium-ion.

Although sodium-sulphur (Na-S) batteries have existed for more than half a century, they have been an inferior alternative and their widespread use has been limited by low energy capacity and short life...

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Researchers Develop a Cobalt-free Cathode for Lithium-ion Batteries

researchers develop a cobalt-free cathode for lithium-ion batteries
Working with researchers at four U.S. national laboratories, Huolin Xin, UCI professor of physics & astronomy, has found a way to fabricate lithium-ion batteries without using cobalt, a rare, costly mineral extracted under inhumane conditions in Central Africa. Credit: Steve Zylius / UCI

Researchers at the University of California, Irvine and four national laboratories have devised a way to make lithium-ion battery cathodes without using cobalt, a mineral plagued by price volatility and geopolitical complications.

In a paper published today in Nature, the scientists describe how they overcame thermal and chemical-mechanical instabilities of cathodes composed substantially of nickel—a common substitute for cobalt—by mixing in several other metallic elements.

“Through a techniq...

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