Lithium-air batteries may or may not ever happen, but it’s not for lack of trying. Toyota Motor Europe is one of the funders behind a new MIT study that dives into the mysteries of this elusive energy storage technology, which promises to triple the power per weight of conventional lithium-ion batteries.
Lithium-air technology translates into lighter, cheaper EV batteries and better range — if anybody can ever figure out how to get them to work in an EV.
EVs And The Lithium-Air Energy Storage Unicorn
Lithium-air batteries literally replace some of the lithium with an air flow, which is why they save on weight.
Back in 2010 the US Energy Department laid out the challenge facing EVs in the auto market…
An EV that is cost-competitive with gasoline would require a battery with twice the energy storage of today’s state-of-the-art Li-Ion battery at 30% of the cost.
…and tagged Li-air energy storage technology as one promising solution:
Li-Air batteries are better than the Li-Ion batteries used in most EVs today because they breathe in air from the atmosphere for use as an active material in the battery, which greatly decreases its weight. Li-Air batteries also store nearly 700% as much energy as traditional Li-Ion batteries. A lighter battery would improve the range of EVs dramatically.
So, how are we doing? After all, it’s been seven years since the Energy Department wrote up its wish list.
The problem, as summed up by MIT writer David Chandler, is a triple whammy:
But that theoretical promise has been limited in practice because of three issues: the need for high voltages for charging, a low efficiency with regard to getting back the amount of energy put in, and low cycle lifetimes, which result from instability in the battery’s oxygen electrode.
Phooey!
CleanTechnica has been periodically checking on the progress of Li-air energy storage since 2010, and researchers have been trying all sorts of things to resolve any or all of those three issues, from genetically modified viruses to ordinary pencils. Researchers at MIT have also been looking into glass-based Li-air batteries.
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