The dream of energy: what could be the batteries of the future

Original author: Max Langridge and Luke Edwards
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In recent years, we have often heard that the humankind is about to get batteries that will be able to power our gadgets for weeks or even months, with very compact and fast-charging ones. But things are there. Why still have not appeared more efficient batteries and what are the developments in the world, read under the cut.

Today, a number of startups are close to creating safe compact batteries with an energy storage cost of about $ 100 per kWh. This would solve the problem of power supply 24/7 and in many cases switch to renewable energy sources, and at the same time reduce the weight and cost of electric cars.

But all these developments are extremely slowly approaching the commercial level, which does not allow to accelerate the transition from fossil to renewable sources. Even Ilon Musk, who loves courageous promises, was forced to admit that his automobile division is gradually improving lithium-ion batteries, and does not create breakthrough technologies.

Many developers believe that future batteries will have a completely different shape, structure and chemical composition compared to lithium-ion batteries, which in the past decade have ousted other technologies from many markets.

The founder of SolidEnergy Systems, Qichao Hu, who has been developing a lithium-metal battery for ten years (metal anode, not graphite, as in traditional lithium-ion batteries), argues that the main problem in creating new energy storage technologies , that while improving one parameter, the others deteriorate. Moreover, there are so many developments today that the authors loudly claim about their superiority that it is very difficult for startups to convince potential investors and raise enough funds to continue research.

According to a report by Lux Research , over the past 8–9 years, the company has invested about $ 4 billion in energy storage research, of which start-ups creating “new generation technologies” have, on average, got $ 40 million each. At the same time, Tesla has invested about $ 5 billion in the Gigafactory, which manufactures lithium-ion batteries. Such a gap is very difficult to bridge.

According to Gerd Ceder, a professor of materials science at the University of California at Berkeley, it costs about $ 500 million to set up a small production line and solve all production problems to start producing batteries. Automakers can test new battery technology for years before deciding whether to acquire start-ups. Even if the new technology enters the market, it is necessary to overcome the dangerous period of increasing volumes and finding customers. For example, Leyden Energy and A123 Systems failed, despite the promise of their products, since financial needs were higher than estimated, and demand did not meet expectations. Two more startups, Seeo and Sakti3,

At the same time, the three main global battery manufacturers - Samsung, LG and Panasonic - are not too interested in the emergence of innovations and radical changes, they prefer to slightly improve their products. So all startups offering “breakthrough technologies” face a major problem that they prefer not to mention: lithium-ion batteries, developed in the late 1970s, continue to improve.

But still - what technologies can replace the ubiquitous lithium-ion batteries?

Lithium-air "breathable" batteries




In lithium-air batteries, oxygen is used as an oxidizing agent. Potentially, they can be many times cheaper and lighter than lithium-ion batteries, and their capacity can be much larger at comparable sizes. The main problems of the technology are: significant energy loss due to heat dissipation during charging (up to 30%) and relatively fast degradation of capacity. But there is hope that within 5-10 years these problems will be solved. For example, last year a new kind of lithium-air technology was introduced - a battery with a nanolithic cathode .

Bioo Charger



This device is in the form of a special pot for plants that uses the energy of photosynthesis to charge mobile gadgets. And it is already available for sale. The device can provide two or three charging sessions per day with a voltage of 3.5 V and a current of 0.5 A. The organic materials in the pot interact with water and the products of the photosynthesis reaction, the result is enough energy to charge smartphones and tablets.

Imagine whole groves in which every tree is planted above such a device, only larger and more powerful. This will allow supplying “free” energy to surrounding houses and will be a weighty reason for protecting forests from deforestation.

Batteries with gold nanowires



At the University of California, Irvine , nanowire batteries have been developed that can withstand more than 200,000 charge cycles for three months without any signs of capacity degradation. This will greatly increase the life cycle of power systems in critical systems and consumer electronics.

Nanowires are thousands of times thinner than human hair and promise a bright future. In their development, scientists have applied gold wires in a manganese dioxide sheath, which are placed in a gel-like electrolyte. This prevents the destruction of the nanowires during each charging cycle.

Magnesium batteries



Toyota is working on using magnesium in batteries . This will allow you to create small, tightly packed modules that do not need protective enclosures. In the long run, these batteries can be cheaper and more compact lithium-ion. True, it will not happen soon. If it happens.

Solid state batteries


In conventional lithium-ion batteries, liquid, highly flammable electrolyte is used as a medium for the transfer of charged particles between electrodes, gradually leading to battery degradation.

This deficiency is devoid of solid - state lithium-ion batteries, which today are considered one of the most promising. In particular, the developers of Toyota have published a scientific paper.in which they described their experiments with sulfide super-ionic conductors. If they succeed, then batteries will be created at the level of supercapacitors - they will begin to fully charge or discharge in just seven minutes. Ideal for electric vehicles. And thanks to the solid-state structure, such batteries will be much more stable and safer than modern lithium-ion batteries. Their working temperature range will also expand from –30 to +100 degrees Celsius.



Scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in collaboration with Samsung, have also developed solid-state batteries , superior in their characteristics to modern lithium-ion batteries . They are safer, energy consumption is 20-30% higher, and besides they withstand hundreds of thousands of recharge cycles. Yes, and not fire hazard.

Fuel cells


Improving the fuel cells can lead to the fact that we will charge our smartphones once a week, and the drones will fly longer than an hour. Scientists from the Pohang University of Science and Technology (South Korea) created a cell that combined porous stainless steel elements with thin-film electrolyte and electrodes with minimal heat capacity. The design turned out to be more reliable than lithium-ion batteries and lasts longer than them. It is possible that the development will be implemented in commercial products, primarily in Samsung smartphones.

Graphene car batteries



Many experts believe that the future is for graphene batteries. The company Graphenano developed a battery Grabat , which can provide a range of electric vehicles up to 800 km. The developers claim that the battery charges in just a few minutes - the charge / discharge rate is 33 times higher than that of lithium-ion ones. Fast discharging is especially important for high dynamic acceleration of electric vehicles.

The capacity of a 2.3-volt Grabat is huge: about 1000 Wh / kg. For comparison, the best samples of lithium-ion batteries have the level of 180 Wh / kg.

Microcondensers made with a laser




Scientists from Rice University have made progress in the development of microsupercondensers . One of the main drawbacks of the technology is the high cost of manufacturing, but the use of a laser can lead to a significant reduction in price. Electrodes for capacitors are laser cut from a plastic sheet, which greatly reduces the labor intensity of production. Such batteries can be charged 50 times faster than lithium-ion batteries, and they are discharged more slowly than supercapacitors used today. In addition, they are reliable, during the experiments continued to work even after 10 thousand bends.

Sodium ion batteries




A group of French researchers and RS2E companies have developed sodium ion batteries for laptops that use common salt. The principle of operation and the manufacturing process are kept secret. The capacity of a 6.5-centimeter battery is 90 Wh / kg, which is comparable to mass lithium-ion batteries, but it can withstand no more than 2 thousand charge cycles.

Foam batteries



Another trend in the development of energy storage technologies is the creation of three-dimensional structures. In particular, the company Prieto has created a battery based on the substrate of foam metal (copper). There is no flammable electrolyte, such a battery has a long life, it charges faster, its density is five times higher, and it is cheaper and less modern batteries. In Prieto, they hope to first introduce their development into wearable electronics, but they argue that the technology can be spread more widely: to use it in smartphones and even in cars.

High-capacity, fast chargeable “nano”




Another development of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is nanoparticles for batteries : a hollow shell of titanium dioxide, inside of which (like a yolk in an egg) there is a filler made of aluminum powder, sulfuric acid and titanium oxysulfate. The size of the filler can vary regardless of the shell. The use of such particles allowed a three-fold increase in the capacity of modern batteries, and the duration of a full charge was reduced to six minutes. Also, the rate of degradation of the battery has decreased. Cherry on the cake - low cost of production and ease of scaling.

Ultra-fast charge ion-ion battery



Stanford developed an aluminum-ion battery that fully charges in about one minute. At the same time the battery itself has some flexibility. The main problem is that the specific capacity is approximately twice as low as that of lithium-ion batteries. Although, given the speed of charging, it is not so critical.

Alfa battery - two weeks on the water


If Fuji Pigment manages to bring to mind its aluminum-air Alfa battery, then we are waiting for the emergence of energy carriers, the capacity of which is 40 times greater than the capacity of lithium-ion. Moreover, the battery is recharged by topping up water , simple or salted. According to the developers, Alfa will be able to work on one charge for up to two weeks. Perhaps, at first such batteries will appear on electric vehicles. Imagine a gas station, which you call in for water.

Batteries that can be bent like paper




Company Jenax created a flexible battery J.Flex, similar to the heavy paper. It can even be folded. In addition, he is not afraid of water and therefore is very convenient for use in clothing. Or imagine a watch with a battery in the form of a strap. This technology will both reduce the size of the gadgets themselves and increase the wearable amount of energy. Another scenario is the creation of flexible folding smartphones and tablets. Need a bigger screen? Just expand the folded gadget.

According to the developers, the test sample can withstand 200 thousand folds without loss of capacity.

Flexible batteries




The creation of flexible energy carriers work in many companies. A team of scientists from the University of Arizona went further and created a battery in the form of an elastic tape using a special mechanical design . It is possible that the idea will be developed and will allow to build batteries in clothes.

Urinary battery



In 2013, the Bill Gates Foundation invested in the continuation of Bristol Robotic Laboratory's research on the creation of urine batteries . The whole cymes in the use of "microbial fuel cells": they contain microorganisms that break down urine and produce electricity. Who knows, maybe soon going to the toilet will be not only a need, but also literally a useful occupation.

Ryden - quick charge carbon batteries


In 2014, Power Japan Plus announced plans to produce batteries based on carbon materials. They could be produced on the same equipment as the lithium-ion. Carbon batteries should last longer and charge up to 20 times faster than lithium-ion batteries. A resource of 3 thousand charge cycles was announced.

Organic battery, almost for nothing


At Harvard, the technology of organic batteries was created , the production cost of which would be $ 27 per kWh. This is 96% cheaper than metal-based batteries (about $ 700 per kWh). The invention uses quinone molecules that are almost identical to those contained in rhubarb. By efficiency, organic batteries are not inferior to traditional ones and can easily scale to huge sizes.

Just add some sand




This technology is a modernization of lithium-ion batteries . At the University of California at Riverside, instead of graphite anodes, they used burnt mixture of purified and ground sand (read: quartz) with salt and magnesium. This has improved the performance of conventional lithium-ion batteries and about three times to increase their service life.

Fast-charged and long-lived


At Nanyang Technological University (Singapore), they developed their own modification of a lithium-ion battery , which charges 70% in two minutes and lasts 10 times longer than regular lithium- ion batteries . In it, the anode is not made of graphite, but of a gel-like substance based on titanium dioxide - a cheap and widely used raw material.

Batteries with nanopores




At the University of Maryland at College Park, they created a nanoporous structure , each cell of which works like a tiny battery. This array charges 12 minutes, three times the capacity of lithium-ion batteries of the same size and can withstand about 1 thousand charging cycles.

Electricity generation


Skin energy




Here we are talking not so much about batteries, but about the method of obtaining energy. Theoretically, using the friction energy of a wearable device (watch, fitness tracker) on the skin, it is possible to generate electricity. If the technology can be improved enough, then in the future, in some gadgets, batteries will work simply because you wear them on your body. The prototype of such a nanogenerator is a gold film 50 nm thick deposited on a silicone substrate containing thousands of tiny legs that increase the friction of the substrate against the skin. The result is a triboelectric effect .

uBeam - charging by air




uBeam is a curious concept of transmitting energy to a mobile device using ultrasound. The charger emits ultrasonic waves, which are picked up by the receiver on the gadget and converted into electricity. Apparently, the basis of the invention is the piezoelectric effect: the receiver resonates under the action of ultrasound, and its vibrations generate energy.

Scientists from Queen's University of London went the same way. They created a prototype of a smartphone that charges up simply due to external noises , including from people's voices.

StoreDot



The charger StoreDot was developed by a startup that appeared on the basis of Tel Aviv University. The laboratory sample was able to charge the Samsung Galaxy 4 battery in 30 seconds. It is reported that the device is based on organic semiconductors made from peptides. At the end of 2017, a pocket battery capable of charging smartphones in five minutes should go on sale.

Transparent solar panel



Alcatel has developed a prototype of a transparent solar panel that fits over the screen, so the phone can be charged just by putting it in the sun. Of course, the concept is not perfect in terms of viewing angles and charging power. But the idea is beautiful.

A year later, in 2014, Tag Heuer announced a new version of its phone for Ponte Tag Heuer Meridiist Infinite, in which a transparent solar panel was to be laid between the outer glass and the display itself. True, it is not clear whether it came to production.

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