Thread for new battery breakthrough PR releases

...That Can Charge an Electric Car for 27-Years

The problem with electric cars these days is that their lithium-ion batteries need to be replaced every few years, with some costing in the upwards of $10,000+. Researchers at the Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Wurttemburg (ZSW) have developed one of the most efficient lithium-ion batteries yet, and in an electric vehicle they’re expected to retain 85% of their capacity after being charged every day for “about 27.4 years.”

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http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/...-that-can-charge-an-electric-car-for-27-years
 
The power density of these batteries, which measures the available power per unit of weight, is also very high at 1,100 watts per kilogram.
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Errr ? .....well, actually..it not even as high as the "old" A123 pouch cells...which also claimed a "long" cycle life !
... and pathetic even compared to the A123 32157, 30C rated , 8Ahr, cell of 250gms. !
...and only equivalent to a 3.4 Ahr 18650 cell with a 4C rating .....not exactly a stunning leap forward in performance !
..and who needs a cell that lasts 27 years ?...
.. in 5 years there will be even better /cheaper/ smaller/ etc/etc , cells available
 
I would also say, it's extremely difficult to accurately accelerate what 27 years down the road is going to be like with respect to calendar aging (irregardless of cycling or not). The industry standards involve heating the cell and extrapolating from the Arrhenius equation to predict future decay. It works very well for some things, works not so well for others. Only if you have a time machine that can travel forward 27 years, or a LOT of patience will you actually know the cells long-term performance capabilities.

With the rates new battery start-ups form and then make a bunch of press releases to get VC money and then vanish having produced no product other than press releases, it would seem someone should be claiming they have a 100 year or 1000 year battery by now. :)
 
No one want a li-ion battery in 2039 with 200 Wh/kg.
I want rather now one with 400Wh/kg wich last about 700 cycles.
They researched in the wrong way.
 
And they will soon say they will cost half as much too. :roll: I predict some difference between what can be done in a lab, and what will be done in a factory.

Keep better stuff coming though, it sounds like a real good lifespan for other applications, like an emergency power supply.

Or maybe with more work, they can come up with a smaller and lighter battery, that lasts a solid 15 years. Past 15 years, most cars have too many problems to repair affordably you know. So a 15 year use window would be about right.
 
These often seem to be exciting and miraculous new developments that never end up making it into production, but they are fun to read...and after all...sooner or later some of these will make it into production, so why not read about the, right?

Just found one today. By adding Germanium nanowires to the anode, lithium batteries can have significantly more capacity and longer life-cycles. Supposedly the process is easy to do and Germanium is not rare, so might actually work in a few years?
http://www.geek.com/mobile/lithium-...doubled-with-new-germanium-nanowires-1584649/
 
News article:

Excerpt:

...

The work, to be published in the Feb. 10 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, not only paves the way for developing a new generation lithium-ion battery that doesn’t spontaneously combust at high temperatures, but also has the potential to renew consumer confidence in a technology that has attracted significant concern—namely, after recent lithium battery fires in Boeing 787 Dreamliners and Tesla Model S vehicles.

...

More at:

https://uncnews.unc.edu/2014/02/10/researchers-build-nonflammable-lithium-ion-battery/
 
Edit: Tipped off by a LockH post... :D

“We’re stoked,” DeSimone said. “You’ve got nonflammability, this transference number, and the ability to do it at high temperatures.” And that’s a trifecta that could be the next great battery revolution we need.
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http://www.wired.com/autopia/2014/02/batteries-flammable-polymer/

New Polymer Could End Battery Fires, Quadruple Efficiency


By Alexander George
02.13.14
5:45 PM

Lithium-ion batteries are at the heart of the phones, tablets, cars, and planes we use every day, but they have an inconvenient habit of occasionally bursting into flames. Now, a team of scientists have found they can replace the unstable, fire-prone chemicals in batteries with an exceptionally stable polymer.

Researchers at UNC Chapel Hill, led by chemist Joseph DeSimone, were originally looking for a material that would keep marine life from adhering to the hulls of ships. But like most great discoveries, it led down a different path.

While testing the material, the team realized this perfluoropolyether, or PFPE, could dissolve lithium salt, an indicator needed to produce conductivity in batteries. “Most polymers don’t mix with salt, but this one did,” says grad student and head researcher Dominica Wong. “And it was nonflammable.”

Lithium-ion batteries create power by moving ions from the negative electrode to the positive electrode. When it re-charges, the ions go the opposite direction. The plain lithium batteries like the AAs in your remote control can only discharge. To recharge, li-ion batteries require an electrolyte, typically an ion-rich liquid like dimethyl carbonate (DMC), which is flammable even at room temperature. “They’re cousins to gasoline,” DeSimone says.

DeSimone and his team have been working with PFPE for years, and during their research, the crew found that another polymer electrolyte, polyethylen glycol or PEG, and PFPE could combine to dissolve salt, and potentially function as an electrolyte. When his team attached the PFPE to dimethyl carbonate, an electrolyte traditionally used in batteries, the resulting PFPE-DMC was a polymer that could move a battery’s ions with insane levels of efficiency while remaining stable.

How does that compare to batteries now? The battery in a Tesla or Prius, using a regular electrolyte, has a transference rate of around 0.2, which works, but is far from ideal. The PFPE electrolyte measured around 0.91, almost approaching “unity” — a transference of 100 percent.

“The holy grail in batteries is a lithium-air battery, which has the power density equivalent to a fuel tank,” DeSimone says. “Everyone’s been working on it, but one of the linchpins is that [regular] electrolytes aren’t compatible with oxygen.” With the application of the new PFPE electrolyte, this type of power-dense battery might actually be possible.

While the lithium-ion batteries in a smartphone are small and used for a comparatively short ownership period, blowing up is rarely an issue. But a larger setup like those found in the Boeing Dreamliner or Tesla Model S, the big reserves of electrolyte fluids are more sensitive. The team’s testing shows that a PFPE electrolyte can remain stable down to -194 degrees Fahrenheit (-90 degrees Celsius) and up to 392 degrees Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius). An electrolyte that doesn’t catch fire or freeze could blow open doors for aeronautical, automotive, and marine applications. It would also mean a battery that wouldn’t freeze in a Minnesota winter.

Commercial appearances of this electrolyte are — as with most radical discoveries — still years away, but DeSimone and his team are continuing their research.

“We’re stoked,” DeSimone said. “You’ve got nonflammability, this transference number, and the ability to do it at high temperatures.” And that’s a trifecta that could be the next great battery revolution we need.
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More on PFPE.....a pdf download..
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...0xunSk61uv3fN3vU_IqzKnA&bvm=bv.61535280,d.cGU

....Snip......

BENEFITS OF PFPE LUBRICANTS

Nontoxic and biologically inert: PFPE oil and grease applications are the safest among
any other lubricant application. PFPE's relative non-toxicity and biological inertness
makes it a preferred lubricant in the food and pharmaceutical industries.

Bearing cleanliness: It is important to select the proper PFPE for the specific application.
Both PFPE oil and grease lubricants provide a viscous, hydrodynamic film sufficient to
support the load and separate ball from the raceway in bearing applications. Usually
greases are displaced during the initial run in and remain fixed in place during their life.
The oil in the thickener will bleed into the raceway. In high speed bearings, the oil is
agitated severely producing an oil mist. This also occurs in slow speed bearings but to a
lesser extent. This oil mist can migrate outside the bearing cavity. Therefore, it is
preferable to use an inert oil, like one of the PFPE oils.

Excellent outgassing : PFPE is the best lubricant for the clean room, in the electronics
industry because of it's very low outgassing properties compared to any other lubricants,
and it does not outgas any hydrocarbons. Hydrocarbons will outgas low molecular weight
hydrocarbons which will react with other materials. Ester based lubricants also react
similarly to hydrocarbons. Synthetic hydrocarbons will outgass less than mineral based
lubricant but still can be considered reactive. Silicone lubricants have a strong desire to
migrate and may adversely affect electrical conductivity of electrical contacts.

Low pour point and vapor pressure : PFPE, Z type, has a straight chain molecular
structure which enables it to flow freely at very low temperature, (freezing point < -1000F).
Also, it has a low vapor pressure at 20'C = < 4 x 10"3 torr. These two properties are the
two most important properties for space application
Fire resistant: The PFPE oils and greases are not combustible under any circumstances
making PFPEs safe to use in various critical applications, where fire resistance is a
requirement.

Low surface tension: Low surface tension, 20 dyn/cm at 20'C, will ensure that oil will
reach the narrow gaps in any machine it lubricates and also gives the highest oil to surface
affinity, (see table II).
High Viscosity Index: A wide range of Kinematic Viscosity fluids with a high Viscosity
Index, VI = 350, makes certain PFPE oils most suitable for applications that requires a
small change in viscosity over a wide range of temperature (see Figure I).

Extreme Pressure: In the ASTM D-2596, 4-ball Weld Point Test, unadditised PFPE
provides a pass result above 800kg. This property makes the PFPE a good lubricant in any
application where a requirement exists for extreme pressure properties.
Safe operation: General chemical inertness and radiation resistance of the PFPE makes it
the lubricant of choice in chemical and nuclear facilities...snip
Click to expand...
 
This proton flow battery, discovered recently at RMIT, down here in Melbourne, might be a solution for cars, instead on lithium and replace hydrogen fuel cells, in a lot of applications.
http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2014/02/04/3934913.htm
Metal hydride electrode.
 
Collection of Battery News and announcements.
http://powerelectronics.com/technologies/batteries

Another Li-Sulphur practical progress.
http://powerelectronics.com/blog/lithiumsulfur-cells-provide-long-cycle-life-high-specific-energy
 
"Liquid-metal" in the news again:
http://www.vnews.com/news/nation/world/11018573-95/liquid-metal-from-mit-stores-solar-power-cheaply

"MIT" is interesting...
 
Liquid metal batteries at the cost of $500 / kilowatt-hour....that's expensive.
The common goal is $100 / kilowatt-hour.
 
Rumors of VW working on something big... http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1090854_volkswagen-to-triple-battery-capacity-with-lithium-air-technology?fbfanpage
 
Honk said:
Liquid metal batteries at the cost of $500 / kilowatt-hour....that's expensive.
The common goal is $100 / kilowatt-hour.
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Cost to buy and operate (over useful life) PER KM???
 
Well, that's also important....but I would'nt consider buying cells with a lousy cycle and shelf-life.
Goal = $100/KWh with low internal resistance at good cycle and calender performance.
 
Honk said:
Well, that's also important....but I would'nt consider buying cells with a lousy cycle and shelf-life.
Goal = $100/KWh with low internal resistance at good cycle and calender performance.
Click to expand...

"calender performance"? There is such a thing??? (Being an ebike addict, I wouldn't know. Is that "calendar life" used, or unused?)
 
Sorry, I meant Calender Life but mistakenly used the term performance.
What I want is long shelf life whithout having to pussy it around to prolong life, e'g keeping it cold or rectricting discharge currents.
 
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