Thread for new battery breakthrough PR releases

From MSN news


Researchers have recently discovered a way to make an efficient battery out of zinc — an inexpensive, commonly found metal — instead of the rare metals used in lithium batteries.

Most rechargeable batteries today are lithium-ion batteries, which include other metals like cobalt and nickel, Tech Xplore reports. As electric vehicles (EVs) and large-scale energy storage get more common, we’ll need more and more of those metals — but because they’re uncommon, the costs are often massive.

Many researchers are working on cheaper battery options to reduce or replace these metals. One Chinese company has created a car powered by a sodium battery, and a University of Maryland researcher has invented a partly biodegradable battery made of zinc and crab shells. Researchers have even found not one but two ways to store energy in ordinary sand.

According to Tech Xplore, this new project, led by Xiulei “David” Ji of Oregon State University, offers yet another alternative to lithium-ion batteries: accessible, efficient zinc metal batteries.

The secret is a new electrolyte developed by Ji and his team, Tech Xplore explains. A battery electrolyte is a liquid inside the battery that helps aid the chemical reactions to store and release energy.

rtunately, past electrolytes in zinc batteries were not very efficient. Much of the energy stored in the battery was previously used up in extra, unwanted chemical reactions. Not only did that mean the battery couldn’t release as much energy as it had put into it, but it also generated dangerous hydrogen gas. This meant that zinc wasn’t practical for rechargeable batteries.


Ji’s team has created a new electrolyte formula that almost eliminates these unwanted reactions, Tech Xplore reports. It forms a protective coating on the zinc component of the battery that prevents that type of energy loss. A similar protective coating is what allows lithium-ion batteries to release more than 99% of the charging energy. The new zinc battery releases 99.95% of the energy it is charged with on each cycle.

Not only is the zinc battery efficient, but it’s also safer than a lithium-ion battery, according to Tech Xplore. The new electrolyte isn’t flammable, while the ones used in lithium-ion batteries often are combustible. Both zinc and the components of the electrolyte are also cheaper and more common than the materials used in lithium-ion batteries.

“The breakthrough represents a significant advancement toward making zinc metal batteries more accessible to consumers,” Ji told OSU News and Research Communications. “These batteries are essential for the installation of additional solar and wind farms. In addition, they offer a secure and efficient solution for home energy storage, as well as energy storage modules for communities that are vulnerable to natural disasters.”

Thanks to the work of Ji and his team, Tech Xplore suggests rechargeable zinc batteries are likely to hit the market in the near future.
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They are doing that and also working on solid state batteries. The new CEO has a different attitude than the technologically conservative previous one.

What's the big deal on the tesla patent? what does it improve?
 
neptronix said:
what does it improve?
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Looks like they found some good ways to keep the cells at 100% and not drop the initial 5- 7% in capacity upon first few charges. Other cost and weight savings are potentially in reach with the techniques as well as added shop life and process improvements. from what I can gather.
Hope your right on the new leadership for all the good folks working for them.
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Lyten also added some news (Multiple sources) on the lithium sulfur chem. Few new details other than they are sending out test cells shortly. Must be worth wider testing at this point.
Big deal as they potentially can have 3x the energy density of the lithium ion chem. Things are moving fast now.
 
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Greater Bay Phoenix (GAC Motor)

8C charge rate (7.5 min full charge). Claim 18 times heat exchange area and can preheat -20 to +25 in 5 min. 260 wh/kg and claim 800000 km life. Multiple sources estimating they are Shipping end of this year.

cnevpost.com

GAC-backed Greater Bay unveils Phoenix battery that claims to be able to charge from 0 to 80% in 6 minutes

The Phoenix battery will be in mass production next year and is expected to be used in production vehicles by the end of next year, Greater Bay said.
cnevpost.com cnevpost.com
 
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Using neutron reflectometry to look inside working solid-state battery and discover its key to success.
Enter lithium phosphorus oxynitride, or LiPON, a solid electrolyte invented at ORNL nearly 30 years ago. "It's never been understood why it works really well," Westover said. "We want to make what works with LiPON work on a much larger scale. But we have to understand it first."
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Using neutron reflectometry to look inside working solid-state battery and discover its key to success
 
neptronix said:
Good interview.

Impressive cells too if 10C is real.
The All-New Amprius 500 Wh/kg Battery Platform is Here | Amprius Technologies
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What I don't get is why hasn't Elon Musk bought out Amprius or made a deal with them to plan massive expansion.
Instead, Tesla seems to be stuffing around with its 4680 cell which apparently isn't working out bcos they can't get the dry coating technology they acquired from Maxwell working very well.
They should just spend the time/money on trying to shove whatever Amprius has into a 4680 cell, even if they initially start off with poor theoretical efficiency it will surely still be better than their current 4680 cell technology.
 
They use off-the-shelf deposition machines & target aerospace / drones b/c they can sell batteries at a high premium low volume, which is why they have customers and revenue.
 
This will not be of use for vehicles, but could be a player in the grid storage game..
. It offers long term , high capacity storage using common base materials.
www.mgathermal.com

Shell Backs MGA Thermal Demonstration Plant | MGA Thermal | Large-scale Energy Storage

MGA Thermal is thrilled to announce we have been awarded funding by global energy provider Shell. The funding, provided under Shell GameChanger, the company’s start-up acceleration program, is to accelerate the completion of the MGA Thermal Energy Storage pilot. Located at MGA Thermal’s new commerc
www.mgathermal.com www.mgathermal.com
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TheBeastie said:
What I don't get is why hasn't Elon Musk bought out Amprius or made a deal with them to plan massive expansion.
Instead, Tesla seems to be stuffing around with its 4680 cell which apparently isn't working out bcos they can't get the dry coating technology they acquired from Maxwell working very well.
They should just spend the time/money on trying to shove whatever Amprius has into a 4680 cell, even if they initially start off with poor theoretical efficiency it will surely still be better than their current 4680 cell technology.
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Yeah.. Lithium cell technology seems close to tapped out and i'm actually a bit surprised that Toyota might be selling cars with Solid State batteries before Tesla.. if so, that's an egg on their face for not helping push the state of the art further.

Honestly it's quite frustrating that we've been stuck with batteries that get just a few % better each year since what, 2014?
 
So more news lately that sodium-ion battery technology is real and viable as a major European based company NorthVolt has announced their sodium-ion battery and have announced to build a factory to pump them out
Northvolt develops state-of-the-art sodium-ion battery

So that announcement^ really helps lock in the reality that sodium-ion is real and comparable to LFP batteries which is no small feat. The announcement combined with China's BYD/CATL company making sodium-ion batteries truly makes me believe it is something we will see.

Here are other recent articles on sodium-ion development
www.pv-magazine.com

Northvolt unveils 160 Wh/kg sodium-ion battery

Swedish battery maker Northvolt has developed its first sodium-ion battery in partnership with Uppsala University spinoff Altris. The cell has been validated for an energy density of more than 160 Wh/kg and is designed primarily for energy storage applications.
www.pv-magazine.com www.pv-magazine.com
www.power-technology.com

Northvolt makes breakthrough in sodium-ion battery technology

Northvolt has announced a breakthrough in its sodium-ion battery technology, developed for use in energy storage systems.
www.power-technology.com www.power-technology.com
news.yahoo.com

Sodium-ion batteries are gaining traction thanks to a ‘game-changing’ new partnership: ‘The battery of the future’

“This could very well become a game changer.”
news.yahoo.com news.yahoo.com
insideevs.com

Are Sodium-Ion Batteries Dead On Arrival? An Expert Weighs In

We spoke to an energy storage expert for insights into the potential of sodium-ion batteries as an alternative to lithium-ion.
insideevs.com insideevs.com

I have been sceptical of lithium-ion in grid battery storage because it is just too valuable/useful for vehicle/transport use, but due to the abundance of sodium-ion raw battery materials it does make me think that electricity grid/home battery storage could be quite viable and give low-emissions nuclear technology a run for it's money.

Sure sodium-ion doesn't create electricity like nuclear does, and sure I can imagine a situation where a state spends $5billion on a huge sodium-ion battery and then needs to replace the whole thing in ~10 years time, but if the cells are cheap enough then maybe it is more viable than nuclear, at least as we know it today.
But currently Victoria's renewables drive is causing the state to look like a spider-web of huge ugly and basically insulting levels of large transmission tower power lines being put up everywhere, simply because every 50MW+ RE project needs the same level of power-lines that could come from the traditional set of coal/gas power-stations that were normally all grouped together at the same place, but renewables are farm-based so they need to be placed all over the state.
 
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Yeah i've been noticing that sodium ion battery advancement is going like mad.
There's also some cheap no-name sodium ion cells on the market already.

In general, having had some dangerous battery issues in the past, the idea of hauling around a 160-200whr/kg sodium ion sounds almost appealing..

I like, in particular, how nicely a sodium ion battery takes to being punctured at full charge, versus the RC Lipo packs i used to run.. :mrgreen:

 
FWIW, regarding safety of the actual metal being used, sodium metal itself reacts exothermically with water as lithium does (but more rapidly AFAICR). How it reacts within these types of cells will depend on the specific chemical compounds used and their construction.

Regarding slow improvement--there's no money in sudden jumps in capablity for any technology. Even if companies have great advances, if they release that one then they make money "once", but if they eke out little blobs of improvements and charge separately for them over time, they make more money and keep doing it.

Same for pretty much any technology, hardware or otherwise. :(
 

Samsung Aims To Launch Solid-State Batteries By 2027​


Samsung Aims To Launch Solid-State Batteries By 2027, But Its Smartphones Will Not Be The First To Use Them

Samsung will slowly shift away from producing lithium-ion batteries as its sub-division called Samsung SDI is reportedly developing solid-state batteries with an aim to launch the new technology a few years from now. A new team has also been formed to help the Korean giant reach its intended production goal.

The first Samsung-made solid-state batteries are expected to be found in EVs first, will make their way to smartphones and tablets later

Though solid-state battery technology has existed for a while, mass producing them in the millions has come at an unscalable challenge. According to The Korea Economic Daily, Samsung SDI has formed a new team to commercialize its ASB (All-Solid-State Battery) technology, with the team reportedly being led by Go Joo-young, who is the Vice President of the company's large-scale battery business division. The initial aim is to expedite the launch of the new product.
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Aussie company Janus Electric have a contract with “Li-s” , a battery manufacturer, for the supply of 495,000 Lithium Sulphur cells , totaling 247.5 MWh, to power a fleet of 400 converted EV Semi trucks Using 600+ kWh swappable packs.
That would suggest each pack would have approx 1000 cells.. a detail confirmed by Janus’s CEO when commenting on the recent fire in one of their trucks he stated that …”data from the damaged pack showed odd voltages in one of the 1050 cells in the pack “.
So can we conclude that large 500+ Wh, Lithium Sulphur cells are in commercial use already ?
bigrigs.com.au

Why electric truck caught fire on the West Gate Freeway

Janus Electric has concluded its investigation into the cause of the truck fire that broke out on the West Gate Freeway in November.
bigrigs.com.au bigrigs.com.au
 
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KPIT unveils sodium-ion battery with energy density of up to 170 Wh/kg​

KPIT, an India-based automotive software and engineering solutions supplier, has unveiled its proprietary sodium-ion battery technology, and is now on the lookout for manufacturing partners. Ravi Pandit, chairman of KPIT, tells pv magazine, that that the company has developed multiple variants with energy density ranging from 100 Wh/kg to 170 Wh/kg, and potentially reaching 220 Wh/kg.
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KPIT unveils sodium-ion battery with energy density of up to 170 Wh/kg

Germany will pay out €700 million for Northvolt to ensure a battery plant gets built after officials won an exemption from the government’s spending freeze​

Stockholm-based Northvolt plans to produce battery cells for e-vehicles at the factory in Heide starting in 2026. The investment needed totals around €4.5 billion and is expected to create around 3,000 jobs.
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Germany will pay out €700 million for Northvolt to ensure a battery plant gets built after officials won an exemption from the government’s spending freeze - Batteries News

UC San Diego spin-off company receives MWh-scale purchase orders of their advanced sodium-ion batteries​

UNIGRID’s unique approach, the use of a tin anode instead of hard carbon, is a breakthrough for sodium-ion batteries; it increases the volumetric energy density to be competitive with and even exceed that of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, overcoming a previous competitive disadvantage.
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UC San Diego spin-off company receives MWh-scale purchase orders of their advanced sodium-ion batteries - Batteries News

Pretty crazy how fast sodium ion is advancing, and how many companies are putting their hat into the ring.
 
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