The problem of autonomy in EVs was thought to be almost solved, but brands such as Tesla or BMW want to go further. However, a group of experts has just achieved something that the industry thought was impossible, and that is to exceed the theoretical limit of the range anxiety to almost pulverize it. This is the most powerful car battery in history, with a performance that you will not believe is possible and you will want to see in your car.
Goodbye to car batteries as you know: the new prototype that could change everything
As the global society strived towards transitioning from fossil-fuelle powered vehicles to electrically charged ones, the need for innovative car batteries that boast of high performances and efficiency has surged. The standard lithium-ion batteries improved the performance of their ancestors.
As witnessed by the current trend of electric automobiles, longer ranges and shorter charging times are crucial requirements in the future of electric vehicles (EVs) that are pushing the search for a revolutionary battery technology agenda of automobile manufacturers and researchers.
Current lithium-ion batteries incorporated a graphite anode and a lithium-metal-oxide cathode that hinder their energy density and charging profiles. To make fully an EV, one realizes a battery with larger energy density, faster charging and with more safety features.
New chemical compound for the car battery of the future: no more range anxiety?
Lithium-metal batteries are a massive improvement over lithium-ion batteries that are currently present in almost all of the digital devices as well as electric vehicles today. Still, GRMs in lithium-ion batteries use graphite as the anode material, whereas lithium-metal batteries use a pure lithium metal anode.
However, the primary opportunity of lithium-metal batteries is that they can offer substantially higher energy density when compared to today’s counterparts. Energy density is something that is important when it comes to electric cars and their range and capability as well as portable battery use.
According to the researchers, this will mean new electric cars with longer ranges or lighter batteries with the same energy as available at present. On the other hand, it could mean possible creation of new portable devices that are generally smaller in size and lighter in weight but have almost the same battery life span.
Additionally, lithium-metal batteries are also capable of achieving higher operating voltages than lithium-ion batteries a characteristic that again improves the energy density and best of all, efficiency of these batteries. However, this advantage has its drawback, for instance, higher voltage tends to cause material reactivity.
It won´t be so easy: this is the problem behind this new car battery
Lithium-metal batteries have long been discussed as the ultimate form of rechargeable batteries because of their theoretical possibility of having energy density at an order of magnitude higher than current state of the art batteries. Nevertheless the commercialisation process of these crops has faced some significant challenges.
The first major concern is that lithium metal quickly forms dendrites that penetrate through the electrolyte and cause internal short circuiting during charge/discharge processes. These asbestos-fibre like structures can extend through the separator of a battery and create internal short circuits.
Another drawback in lithium-metal batteries has been safety issues. The principal element is lithium metal, which is a highly reactive material, and thus the battery involves a risk of fire or explosion if the battery is damaged, exposed to air, or moisture
Imagine how the EV landscape could change now that this car battery has the potential to revolutionize range and solve one of the biggest problems with zero-emission vehicles in one fell swoop. In fact, experts believe that this invention could open a new chapter (and not like the diamond battery that turned out to be a scam that we told you about several days ago). In this case, it is innovation brought to the roads and made available to drivers.
