Researchers make game-changing breakthrough that could dramatically boost electric vehicle performance: 'A previously unknown mechanism'
Wouldn't it be great if batteries were more powerful, charged faster, and lasted longer? Well, that may be a reality in the very near future, and it could have a huge impact on the electrical vehicle industry.
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Germany have discovered how to do just that by reimagining how electrodes work, per a summary published on Tech Xplore.
Electrodes are made up of two main parts: The contact material, which is generally made of copper or aluminum foil, moves the electrical charge in and out of the battery, and the active material absorbs or releases that charge.
Today, battery makers are faced with a dilemma. If they make the electrode thicker, it stores more energy but charges more slowly. If they make the electrode thinner, the battery will charge faster but not hold as much energy.
The team at Max Planck figured out how to get the best of both worlds using a metal fleece in place of the flat foils. The metal fleece allows charged ions to move much faster. Max Planck director Joachim Spatz compared the incredibly thin strips of metal that make up the fleece to "a kind of motorway for the metal ions."
"The basis for this is a previously unknown mechanism that we discovered in ion transport in electrodes," Spatz said, per the summary.
The study showed that using this method, ions moved about 56 times faster than in a standard electrode. And because the fleece allows the electrode to be ten times thicker than usual, it can store up to 85% more power than a regular foil electrode.
Batteries with faster charging times and more power, meaning more range, could convince people to make the change from a gas-powered car to an EV, greatly reducing carbon pollution that's one of the main drivers of the planet overheating.
But it gets even better. According to Spatz, manufacturing batteries using the metal fleece is about 30-40% cheaper than current methods. Rather than the current process, which is complex and sometimes uses toxic solvents, this new method introduces the active material to the fleece in the form of dry powder. One can only hope that the savings on batteries would be passed on to customers.
There's no telling yet when these batteries will come to market, but Spatz has already founded a startup and is currently working with car manufacturers to further develop the technology.
If you were going to purchase an EV, which of these factors would be most important to you?
Cost
Battery range
Power and speed
The way it looks
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