Center advancing beyond lithium battery technologies generates over 30 patents for licensing

By On May 12, 2022

Lithium-ion batteries are perhaps the most popular technology today, but the next generation of energy storage devices – which has the potential to be safer and last longer – may be here sooner than you think.

Battery innovation is needed to enable a renewable electricity grid and to decarbonise heavy transport such as long-distance trucks, maritime transport and aviation. Among those driving innovation is the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research (JCESR), a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) innovation center run by the Argonne National Laboratory at DOE.

Since 2013, JCESR researchers have invented a wide and diverse range of technologies in space “beyond lithium-ion”. The primary focus was on flow-through, lithium-sulfur, multivalent, and semiconductor batteries, and it yielded more than 30 patents now available for licensing.

“The intellectual property portfolio we have developed illustrates our fundamental understanding of how to build, from the atomic level upwards, molecules that interact to create stable, working battery materials,” said Brian Ingram, Argonne’s materials engineer and researcher at JCESR.

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Why beyond lithium technologies are needed

All batteries include three key parts: the anode, the negative side of the battery; cathode, positive side of the battery; and electrolyte, a chemical material that allows current or charge to flow between the anode and cathode.

In the case of lithium-ion, when the battery is turned on, chemical reactions occur that cause negatively charged particles known as electrons and positively charged lithium particles known as lithium ions to be released. Lithium ions move through the electrolyte to get from the anode to the cathode. Meanwhile, electrons from the anode pass through a separate circuit to reach the cathode, and their motion creates an electric current that powers the devices. When these batteries are charged, the ions and electrons are pushed back to the anode and are ready to start the cycle again.

Although lithium-ion batteries are very useful, they have some drawbacks. They need additional physical protection to maintain safe operation, are expensive to manufacture, and have limitations on how long they can last. Research on next-generation batteries focuses on creating new shapes and materials that can overcome these limitations and expand the use of batteries.

Redox flow batteries

Especially in the space of the electrical network, redox flow batteries are considered valuable, surpassing lithium-ion technology. Compared to lithium-ion batteries, which can emit a lot of energy in a short time, instantaneous batteries are more suitable for providing lower amounts of energy over a longer period of time.

JCESR research has revealed ways to make instantaneous batteries even more energy-dense and efficient than they are today. Within their intellectual property are patents that address some of the limitations in existing instantaneous batteries and non-aqueous instantaneous batteries, an emerging technology.

Multivalent-ion battery technologies

Multivalent metal batteries are another emerging technology being explored by JCESR researchers. Compared to lithium, which can have only one charge, multivalent metals can achieve a higher charge density.

Anodes made of multivalent metals such as magnesium and calcium have the potential to match and even exceed the energy density of lithium and are usually richer, making them cheaper and more sustainable for engineering. But to advance their development, researchers still have to overcome a number of scientific challenges. In particular, JCESR’s intellectual property addresses the challenges associated with producing a stable electrolyte that operates in a multivalent battery needed to maintain efficiency over time.

“The electrolytes that existed in this space are stable only under a very narrow range of conditions. With JCESR, we have done a lot to expand this area of stability,” Ingram said.

Lithium-sulfur batteries

In transport, lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries, which are different from lithium-ion technology, have shown great potential. Due to its chemistry and the fact that sulfur is cheap and more so than other commonly used cathode materials (such as cobalt, nickel and manganese), Li-S batteries could store more energy at a lower cost than conventional lithium-ion technologies. However, today, when a Li-S battery is discharged, unintentional reactions can occur that cause materials known as polysulfides to accumulate in the battery, which can shorten its life.

JCESR scientists have developed materials and procedures to address this and other challenges that limit the development of Li-S technologies. Their intellectual property includes patents for binders that prevent the diffusion of polysulfide material across the battery, as well as for the fabrication of sulfur cathodes.

“How sulfur spreads inside the cathode is extremely important. You want the sulfur particles not in large chunks, but in smaller chunks, to have more interfaces where reactions can happen, ”said Lei Cheng, Argonne chemist and JCESR researcher. “In our patent, we have presented a process for making sulfur in a way that increases the number of interfaces or active sites in the material.”

Solid-state and lithium metal batteries

Among efforts to extend the life of electric vehicles, scientists around the world are also studying semiconductor batteries. These batteries use solid, non-flammable electrolytes instead of the flammable liquid electrolytes found in conventional batteries.

By replacing the liquid electrolyte, semiconductor batteries are more stable and thus potentially safer. One type in particular – semiconductor lithium metal batteries – has a high energy density and the potential to offer greater range and faster charging compared to the lithium-ion batteries found in today’s vehicles.

Despite their potential, these batteries tend to form long, branched lithium needles called dendrites that limit battery life and safety. Among their intellectual property, JCESR researchers have a patented coating for their anodes that can inhibit dendritic formation. In addition, they have developed new battery processes and designs to improve their efficiency and extend their life cycle. Together, this and their other work in the “beyond lithium-ion” space illustrate the exciting opportunities that are now here to improve energy storage in the coming decades.

To find out more about JCESR-funded inventions, contact us at jcesrlicensing @ anl. Gov.

The Joint Energy Storage Research Center (JCESR), the DOE Center for Energy Innovation, is a large partnership that brings together researchers from many disciplines to overcome critical scientific and technical barriers and create new breakthrough energy storage technology. Partners run by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory include national leaders in science and engineering from academia, the private sector, and national laboratories. Their combined expertise covers the full range of technological development process from basic research to prototype development to product engineering to market delivery.

The Argonne National Laboratory is looking for solutions to pressing national problems in science and technology. Argonne, the country’s first national laboratory, conducts cutting-edge basic and applied scientific research in almost all scientific disciplines. Argonne researchers are working closely with researchers from hundreds of companies, universities, and federal, state, and municipal agencies to help them solve their specific problems, advance U.S. scientific leadership, and prepare the nation for a better future. Employees from more than 60 Argonne countries are managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science is the largest supporter of basic physical science research in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit https: // ener gy .gov / s c ience.

Who invented the battery?

Batteries are mostly used in various industrial applications such as off-grid and off-grid energy storage systems, UPS, backup power, machinery and marine equipment, industrial automation systems, agricultural machinery, defense and aviation, electronics, oil and gas, and civilian infrastructure.

Who invented the battery and when?

When were batteries first made? Volta discovered in 1800 that some liquids create a constant flow of electricity when used as a conductor. This discovery led to the invention of the first voltaic cell, better known as a battery.

Who invented the first known battery?

It was discovered by another Italian named Alessandro Volta, after whom the battery was named in 1800. Then in 1868 the Frenchman Georges Leclanché invented the “Leclanché cell”. It was the source of today’s dry batteries, but it could be inconvenient to use as its ammonium chloride solution would spill.

Who invented the battery in the 1970’s?

Italian physicist Alessandro Volta is generally credited with developing the first working battery. After a previous work by his compatriot Luigi Galvani, Volta conducted a series of experiments on electrochemical phenomena in the 1790s.

Who invented battery in 1800?

During the oil crisis of the 1970s, Stanley Whittingham, an English chemist working for Exxon mobile at the time, began researching the idea of a new battery – one that could recharge itself in a short time and possibly lead to a day without fossil energy. .

Who is known as the father of battery?

But further research on electromagnetism and any practical use of electricity would require a source of continuous current that was not available until 1800, when Alessandro Volta invented the first electric heap, the forerunner of the modern battery.

When was first battery invented?

Based on some of Luigi Galvani’s findings, Alessandro Volta, a friend and fellow scientist, believed that the observed electrical phenomena were caused by two different metals connected by a moist mediator. He tested this hypothesis experimentally and published the results in 1791.

Who invented battery first?

In 1859, the French physician Gaston Planté invented the first lead-acid rechargeable battery, a system still in use today.

What was the first battery?

Who invented the first known battery?

1800, first electrochemical cell: Alessandro Volta invented the copper-zinc “voltaic heap” for which Napoleon appointed him count. This is the first battery.

When was first battery invented?

Who invented battery for the first time?

In 1800, Volta invented the first real battery to store and release charge by chemical reaction instead of physical, which became known as the voltaic heap.

What was the very first battery?

In 1800, when Alessandro Volta invented the battery, he was professor of physics at the University of Pavia in Italy.

Is a battery AC or DC?

1800, first electrochemical cell: Alessandro Volta invented the copper-zinc “voltaic heap” for which Napoleon appointed him count. This is the first battery.

Batteries and electronic devices, such as televisions, computers, and DVD players, use direct current electricity – when AC current enters the device, it is converted to direct current. A typical battery provides about 1.5 volts DC.

Is a 12V battery AC or DC?

Are batteries always one-way? Batteries, fuel cells and solar cells produce something called direct current (DC). The positive and negative terminals of the battery are always positive and negative. The current between these two terminals always flows in the same direction.

Is 12 volt batteries AC or DC?

The most common DC voltages are 5V (USB) and 12V (batteries), while the most common AC voltages are 120V and 230V. The main difference between the two is that alternating current (AC) changes its direction 50 or 60 times per second (mains supply), while direct current does not change its direction.

What is 12V AC DC?

The most common DC voltages are 5V (USB) and 12V (batteries), while the most common AC voltages are 120V and 230V.

Are cars 12V DC?

AC stands for AC and DC for DC. AC and DC are also used when referring to voltages and electrical signals other than currents! For example: a 12 V AC power supply has AC voltage (which will cause AC flow).

Do batteries store AC or DC?

Most cars today are designed with a negative battery grounding system and therefore have a 12V positive power distribution. In this case, the central pin of the plug / socket will be 12V DC and the outer casing 0V.

Can batteries store AC power?

Because AC is much better than DC for long-distance transmission, the power grid uses AC. Also, most of your home appliances use AC. However, solar cells produce direct current and are thus stored by most batteries.

Do batteries give DC or AC?

As a result, the power stored in the battery is static and is direct current (DC). At the same time, AC cannot be stored in batteries because the AC occasionally changes its polarity, which means that a normal AC has a power supply of up to 50 Hz or 60 Hz (50 to 60 times per second).

Can a battery be AC?

Batteries provide direct current, which is created by a chemical reaction inside the battery.

Are batteries AC or electric?

They are developing the world’s first stand-alone AC battery using the so-called ‘biode’, which has anode and cathode characteristics. An AC battery is more efficient, safer, and about 30 percent more compact than conventional direct current (DC) batteries.

What battery does Tesla use?

The terms “AC” and “DC” refer to the type of electric current used by the device. Batteries and many power supplies produce direct current while there is electricity in your AC wall outlets.

Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) battery cells will be used in all Tesla vehicles with a single engine and rear-wheel drive. In the US, this means that only base model 3 uses LFP chemistry, although a new version of model Y LFP may be on the way.

Do Teslas use Lithium batteries?

Which battery company uses Tesla? Panasonic is the only manufacturer of more advanced Tesla batteries, ensuring it remains a key supplier for the U.S. company, at least for its more expensive models, even though the electric vehicle maker is looking for battery suppliers in China and elsewhere.

Does Tesla use lithium ion batteries?

What types of batteries does Tesla use? Tesla uses lithium-ion batteries that are made to last. Tesla Model 3 cars also have an energy density of 260 Wh / kg, which makes them capable of handling high-capacity batteries.

Is Tesla using lithium?

By now, most people know that the Tesla Roadster is powered by lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries. But here are some things about our batteries that you may not have heard of. Our battery system – or energy storage system as we like to call it – is made up of 6,831 individual lithium-ion cells.

What batteries do Teslas use?

Tesla is one company that is very focused on lithium. All of Tesla’s cars are powered by lithium, making some of their models reliable enough to travel more than 400 miles in range, such as the S Long Range model.

What is the latest battery technology?

Today, among all state-of-the-art storage technologies, lithium-ion battery technology provides the highest level of energy density.

What are the latest battery technologies?

What will replace the lithium battery? Scientists and engineers have been developing sodium batteries for about a decade to replace both lithium and cobalt used in current lithium-ion batteries with cheaper, more environmentally friendly sodium.

5 new battery technologies that will change the future
NanoBolt lithium tungsten batteries. Researchers at N1 Technologies, Inc. working on battery anode materials are …
Zinc-manganese oxide batteries. …
Organosilicon electrolyte batteries. …
Gold nanowire gel electrolyte batteries. …

What are the advanced battery technologies?

TankTwo String Cell Batteries „„ ¢.

What is the new battery to replace lithium?

Advanced Battery Technologies was best known for developing and manufacturing lithium-iron phosphate batteries. ABAT has produced customized mini golf and shuttle carts, e-bikes, PLI batteries for electric buses and e-scooters equipped with unique lithium-iron-phosphate batteries.

What is the newest battery technology?

Silicon as an anode for graphite replacement For decades, scientists and battery manufacturers have viewed silicon as an energy-dense material for mixing or completely replacing conventional graphite anodes in lithium-ion batteries. Theoretically, silicon offers about 10 times more storage capacity than graphite.

What is the battery technology of the future?

NEW GENERATION LITHIUM ION BATTERIES In this technology, the positive electrode acts as the initial source of lithium and the negative electrode as the host for lithium.

What is the new type of battery technology?

Grabat has developed graphene batteries that can offer electric cars a range of up to 500 miles on a rechargeable basis. Graphenano, the company behind the development, says batteries can be fully charged in just minutes and can be charged and discharged 33 times faster than lithium-ion.

What is predicted for the future of batteries?

Created by engineers at the University of Texas at Austin, a sodium-sulfur battery solves one of the biggest hurdles that has hampered technology as a commercially viable alternative to ubiquitous lithium-ion batteries that power everything from smartphones to electric vehicles.

What is the most advanced battery technology?

The use of lithium-ion batteries is expected to accelerate in the near future. Their design is likely to evolve during this time, but scientists believe they may soon reach their performance limits, especially in terms of their energy density.

Will there be a better battery than lithium ion?

Lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery is an advanced battery technology that uses lithium ions as a key component of its electrochemistry. During the discharge cycle, the lithium atoms in the anode ionize and separate from their electrons.

Is there a battery more powerful than lithium-ion?

Batteries made of magnesium metal could have higher energy density, higher stability and lower costs than today’s lithium-ion cells, scientists say in one study. Magnesium has another advantage. Each magnesium atom releases two electrons during the battery discharge phase, compared to one electron for lithium.

What battery will replace lithium-ion?

Fluoride batteries can last eight times longer than lithium batteries, but that’s easier said than done. This is because fluorine is an anion or negatively charged ion, which is the magic of its high energy density, but it is also the reason it is reactive and difficult to stabilize.

Is there a safer alternative to lithium?

One of the most promising alternatives is to use sodium ion (Na-ion) batteries instead of lithium-ion. Na-ion batteries have several advantages over traditional lithium-ion batteries in a variety of end uses. Lithium and sodium are alkali metals and are next to each other in the periodic table.