Posted on 02/23/2024 12:49:42 PM PST by Red Badger
New research funded by the Department of Energy has created a potentially revolutionary lithium battery that can be fully charged in only five minutes. State-of-the-art lithium-ion batteries, which power everything from mobile phones to electric cars, can take hours to fully charge, frustrating electric vehicle owners and high-volume phone users alike.
The Cornell University researchers behind the new lithium battery caution that the design has limitations, including a high weight that may make it impractical for some applications. Still, they say that their discovery could point the way to other materials that share the same fast-charging properties without the same limitations, potentially revolutionizing entire industries.
NEW LITHIUM BATTERY COULD CURE RANGE ANXIETY
Where mobile phones can be charged almost anywhere, and backup battery packs can dramatically increase usage times between charges, electric vehicles have yet to find an easy, practical solution to slow charging times. The result is a phenomenon that researchers call “range anxiety,” meaning a fear of taking electric vehicles on long trips due to the fact that recharging them could take hours.
To combat this phenomenon, electric vehicle manufacturers have increased battery sizes that can extend the miles between charges. Unfortunately, the added weight of larger batteries reduces their efficiency, resulting in even longer and slower recharging times to reach full capacity.
“Range anxiety is a greater barrier to electrification in transportation than any of the other barriers, like cost and capability of batteries,” said Lynden Archer, professor of engineering and dean of Cornell’s College of Engineering, who oversaw the project.
However, says Archer, if one can charge their EV’s battery in five minutes, one no longer needs to have a battery that’s big enough for a 300-mile range. “You can settle for less, which could reduce the cost of EVs, enabling wider adoption,” the professor explains.
NOVEL ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES ALLOW INDIUM-BASED LITHIUM BATTERY TO CHARGE IN MINUTES
To try to reduce EV charging times from hours to a few minutes, Archer’s team looked for a material that had the right mix of electrical and material properties to accomplish the task. They soon landed on a soft metal called Indium. While not currently used to make batteries, Indium is already widely used to create Indium-tin oxide that coats anything from solar panels to touchscreen displays. This means it is available at a reasonable cost and at an industrial scale.
According to the researchers, the key components making Indium a candidate for a fast-charging battery are an extremely low migration energy barrier, “which sets the rate at which ions diffuse in the solid state,” and a relatively modest exchange current density, “which is related to the rate at which ions are reduced in the anode.”
After fast charging their new lithium battery, the researchers observed its indium anode had a smooth lithium electrodeposition, whereas other anode materials can grow dendrites that impact the battery’s performance. “The key innovation is we’ve discovered a design principle that allows metal ions at a battery anode to freely move around, find the right configuration and only then participate in the charge storage reaction,” Archer said. “The end result is that in every charging cycle, the electrode is in a stable morphological state.”
By taking advantage of these two properties, Archer says they were able to create a lithium battery that charges in minutes and can be recharged thousands of times without losing significant capacity. If adapted to electric vehicle designs, they say that this type of battery could effectively eliminate range anxiety.
Do the self-ignite faster also?
You can’t get something for nothing.
If it charges much faster, then it’s going to discharge much faster. You can’t walk to and from school downhill both ways.
Aaaand the catch is?
Its horribly expensive? It only comes in a capacity that will power a wrist watch? If this thing was a going concern, it wouldn’t be on freerepublic.com
Have we hit 1,000 on the number of miraculous batteries that are forthcoming any day now?
They don’t form dendrites on the electrodes and that is what causes lithium batteries to short out and catch fire....................
I expect to read more articles like this one soon enough. EVs are losing favor with a rising number of Americans who don’t want to be tied to them. So, those pushing the EV mandates will see to it that people are *convinced” EVs are the way to go and that they will get better overnight.
If it sounds too good to be true, it is.
“including a high weight that may make it impractical for some applications.” which means it’s as useless as Kamala Harris
Aaaand the catch is?
Indium. Cost is about $15 per ounce.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071FY6JG3?tag=bravesoftwa04-20&linkCode=osi&th=1&psc=1&language=en_US
The government says it’s safe and effective.................
They’ll probably sell the patent rights to China.
“...if one can charge their EV’s battery in five minutes, one no longer needs to have a battery that’s big enough for a 300-mile range. ‘You can settle for less, which could reduce the cost of EVs, enabling wider adoption’”
So you could stop for a fast five minute charge every 75 miles. Sounds like a plan. The country will need 475,000 top-off charging stations and you’ll still have to wait in line for 15 minutes to get your 5 minute top-off charge.
Hmmmmmm......let’s pretend that 80% or so of this article is real. Have they experimented in very cold conditions? Have they experimented in very hot conditions?
And one of the most important questions is, have they forked over at least 10% for the Big Guy?
BUT, does it work with Lithium Indium batteries?
The charger doesn’t really matter, beyond how much current it can supply.
The battery is the limiting factor in charging speed.
The faster you charge the sooner you kill your battery
DOH!!!
Nevermind: I read ‘Charger’, not “CHARGES” in the title.
Charging and electric car is 5 minutes is a gosh darn lot of electricity. Like two inch diameter cable to avoid bursting into flames quick. Where and how can this be done safely and reliability? 440V direct connection?
How much electricity is required to charge a 400 mile trip in 5 minutes?
They repealed Ohms Law...................
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