Jan
7
Lithium Sulfur Batteries Ready For Commercial Prototyping
January 7, 2020 | 2 Comments
Australia’s Monash University researchers have developed the world’s most efficient lithium-sulfur battery, capable of powering a smartphone for five continuous days. The prototype cells have been developed in Germany. Further testing in cars and solar grids is to take place in Australia during 2020. The researchers have a filed patent on the manufacturing process, and production is expected to capture a large share of Australia’s lithium chain.
L to R, Associate Professor Matthew Hill, Dr Mahdokht Shaibani and Professor Mainak Majumder with the lithium-sulfur battery design. Image Credit Monash University. Click image for the largest view.
The study paper about the battery chemistry and design has been published in Science Advances.
The university press release opens with, “Imagining having access to a battery, which has the potential to power your phone for five continuous days, or enable an electric vehicle to drive more than 1000km (620 miles) without needing to “refuel.”” This would be a sea change in expectations for electricity storage.
Monash University researchers are on the brink of commercializing the world’s most efficient lithium-sulfur (Li-S) battery, which could outperform current market leaders by more than four times, and power Australia and other global markets well into the future.
Dr. Mahdokht Shaibani from Monash University’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering led an international research team that developed an ultra-high capacity Li-S battery that has better performance and less environmental impact than current lithium-ion products.
The researchers have an approved filed patent (PCT/AU 2019/051239) for their manufacturing process, and prototype cells have been successfully fabricated by German R&D partners Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology.
Some of the world’s largest manufacturers of lithium batteries in China and Europe have expressed interest in upscaling production, with further testing to take place in Australia in early 2020.
Professor Mainak Majumder said this development was a breakthrough for Australian industry and could transform the way phones, cars, computers and solar grids are manufactured in the future.
“Successful fabrication and implementation of Li-S batteries in cars and grids will capture a more significant part of the estimated $213 billion value chain of Australian lithium, and will revolutionize the Australian vehicle market and provide all Australians with a cleaner and more reliable energy market,” Professor Majumder said. “Our research team has received more than $2.5 million in funding from government and international industry partners to trial this battery technology in cars and grids from this year, which we’re most excited about.”
Using the same materials in standard lithium-ion batteries, researchers reconfigured the design of sulfur cathodes so they could accommodate higher stress loads without a drop in overall capacity or performance.
Inspired by unique bridging architecture first recorded in processing detergent powders in the 1970s, the team engineered a method that created bonds between particles to accommodate stress and deliver a level of stability not seen in any battery to date.
Attractive performance, along with lower manufacturing costs, abundant supply of material, ease of processing and reduced environmental footprint make this new battery design attractive for future real-world applications, according to Associate Professor Matthew Hill.
“This approach not only favors high performance metrics and long cycle life, but is also simple and extremely low-cost to manufacture, using water-based processes, and can lead to significant reductions in environmentally hazardous waste,” Associate Professor Hill said.
For portable electronics and EV communities this will be big news indeed. A four fold increase in capacity should qualify as disruptive technology. If new batteries come to market at a lower price than lithium ion, well there will be a “land rush” of production facilities making the switch. They could even be lighter in weight. What’s not to like?
The last big question is coming, “Will this technology scale to commercial quantities?” Time will tell, but this looks very likely, indeed.
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As always, new battery announcements
must be takes with Grain of salt, especially
when there are few of any specifications.
Can you publish:
Energy density
Power density
Recharge cycles (graph), to degradation
Safety concerns (overheating etc)
Life cycle
Form factor limitations
Can they be made in existing mfg. lines
You’re right, we’ll have to see. As for detailed specifications . . . not published, so not repeatable.