The Helmholtz Institute Ulm has created a new lithium-ion battery that’s more energy dense and stable.
Lithium-ion batteries have been a game-changer for the world, powering our portable electronics and electric vehicles, but they’ve also had their shortcomings like short-circuiting and limited ranges for EVs. With the increasing demand for better, lighter, and longer-lasting battery solutions, researchers have been on a quest to find the holy grail of batteries. And now, a team of scientists in Germany may have finally found it according to Interesting Engineering.
The Helmholtz Institute Ulm (HIU) of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) has discovered a lithium-metal battery with a groundbreaking energy density of 560-Wh/kg, which is not only incredibly stable but also has the potential to revolutionize the industry. In the past, lithium-metal batteries were known for their instability, with instances of batteries exploding, making them far too dangerous for commercial use. But the team at HIU has overcome these hurdles and found a combination of cobalt-poor, nickel-rich layered cathode (NCM88) and a commercially available organic LP30 electrolyte that work together to enable high energy storage per mass and stability over many cycles.
The energy density of this new battery is above the 500-Wh/kg threshold that is considered the standard for next-gen EVs, and well above the 250-300-Wh/kg energy density of regular lithium-ion batteries. After 1,000 cycles, the new lithium-metal battery retained 88% of its initial storage capacity and had an average Coulombic efficiency of 99.94%, which is the ratio between discharge and charge capacity.
While more research and adaptation are needed before this battery is viable in the real world, it’s a giant step forward. This new discovery, alongside the recent development of a stable, solid-state, lithium-metal battery by Harvard University researchers, is a testament to the leaps and bounds we’re making towards better battery life, weight, and storage.
There’s almost no doubt that the automotive industry is paying close attention to the developments at HIU. Batteries are the most expensive and important part of any electric vehicle. Some companies, like BYD build their own ‘Blade‘ battery which has been engineered to overcome many of the safety issues associated with typical lithium batteries, but still doesn’t have revolutionary levels of energy density.
