Posted on 02/24/2024 8:16:21 PM PST by Red Badger
A team from the University of Liverpool has developed a new solid lithium-ion conductor that could replace liquid electrolytes in batteries, enhancing safety and efficiency. This discovery, facilitated by AI and interdisciplinary collaboration, paves the way for further advancements in sustainable energy storage solutions. Image represents the lithium ions (in blue) moving through the structure. Credit: University of Liverpool
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Researchers at the University of Liverpool have identified a novel solid substance capable of swiftly conducting lithium ions.
A major challenge in the field of materials science involves developing and identifying novel materials that contribute towards achieving global objectives, including the pursuit of Net Zero.
In a paper published in the journal Science, researchers at the University of Liverpool have discovered a solid material that rapidly conducts lithium ions. Such lithium electrolytes are essential components in the rechargeable batteries that power electric vehicles and many electronic devices.
Consisting of non-toxic earth-abundant elements, the new material has high enough Li ion conductivity to replace the liquid electrolytes in current Li ion battery technology, improving safety and energy capacity.
Using a transformative scientific approach to design the material, the interdisciplinary research team from the University synthesised the material in the laboratory, determined its structure (the arrangement of the atoms in space), and demonstrated it in a battery cell.
The Role of AI and Collaborative Research
The new material is one of a very small number of solid materials that achieve Li ion conductivity high enough to replace liquid electrolytes, and operates in a new way because of its structure.
Its discovery was achieved through a collaborative computational and experimental workflow that used AI and physics-based calculations to support decisions made by chemistry experts at the University.
The new material provides a platform for the optimization of chemistry to further enhance the properties of the material itself, and to identify other materials based on the new understanding provided by the study.
Impact and Future Directions Professor Matt Rosseinsky, from the University of Liverpool’s Department of Chemistry, said: “This research demonstrates the design and discovery of a material that is both new and functional. The structure of this material changes the previous understanding of what a high-performance solid-state electrolyte looks like.
“Specifically, solids with many different environments for the mobile ions can perform very well, not just the small number of solids where there is a very narrow range of ionic environments. This dramatically opens up the chemical space available for further discoveries.
Recent reports and media coverage herald the use of AI tools to find potentially new materials. In these cases, the AI tools are working independently and thus are likely to recreate what they were trained on in various ways, generating materials that may be very similar to known ones.
“This discovery research paper shows that AI and computers marshaled by experts can tackle the complex problem of real-world materials discovery, where we seek meaningful differences in composition and structure whose impact on properties is assessed based on understanding.”
“Our disruptive design approach offers a new route to the discovery of these and other high-performance materials that rely on the fast motion of ions in solids.”
Reference:
“Superionic lithium transport via multiple coordination environments defined by two-anion packing” by Guopeng Han, Andrij Vasylenko, Luke M. Daniels, Chris M. Collins, Lucia Corti, Ruiyong Chen, Hongjun Niu, Troy D. Manning, Dmytro Antypov, Matthew S. Dyer, Jungwoo Lim, Marco Zanella, Manel Sonni, Mounib Bahri, Hongil Jo, Yun Dang, Craig M. Robertson, Frédéric Blanc, Laurence J. Hardwick, Nigel D. Browning, John B. Claridge and Matthew J. Rosseinsky, 15 February 2024, Science.
DOI: 10.1126/science.adh5115
The study undertaken was a combined effort between researchers in University of Liverpool’s Department of Chemistry, Materials Innovation Factory, Leverhulme Research Centre for Functional Materials Design, Stephenson Institute for Renewable Energy, Albert Crewe Centre, and School of Engineering.
The work was funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the Leverhulme Trust, and the Faraday Institution.
All this huge R&D money flowing to better batteries. But we only need better EV batteries because the government is fully bought into the climate change hoax and CO2 is evil line. Even if you converted 100% of all automobiles worldwide to electric, the CO2 savings are inconsequential and the impact on climate less than inconsequential.
This is a perfect example of what Bjorn Lomborg described in “The Skeptical Environmentalist.” The huge money flowing to the climate scam (including battery R&D) means that the same money is not available for much more important things like clean water, housing, food, and education around the world.
“Could” May”
The article is riddled with pie in the sky enthusiasm.
I will go out on a limb and say NOPE it won’t.
A supercharged burning lithium battery. What a great idea.
This would be a solid state battery, eliminating the liquid electrolyte...................
It’s a typical R&D paper filled with “could” and “maybe.”
10% of ideas get out of basic research and move to applied research.
10% of ideas get out of applied research and move to development.
10% of ideas get out of development and into prototype / beta testing.
10% of ideas get out of prototype / beta testing and go commercial.
10% of commercial ideas succeed in the marketplace and pay back all those costs AND the costs of everything else that failed.
It was “discovered”? Like “Hey, look what I found in the back of the closet!”.I think “Invented” is the word that should be used here. Another language change? Invented connotes genius and achievement. Discovered implies luck and happenstance. Fits the pattern.
Battery life is only one of approx 10 concerns of EV batteries.
Battery life is only one of approx 10 concerns of EV batteries.
If this discovery is only one of ten EV battery concerns, then that means EVs would still be unaffordable to a great many people & impractical to the rest.
To close the loop:
cost
cost of replacement
fire
weight/road damage
road barrier obliteration
sourcing
cold weather battery life
emergency evacuation charging
charging stations
battery addiction (when will I need & where is my next charge coming from ?)
So, where is the electricity to charge these wondrous new batteries going to come from?
I think Battery powered vehicles were around in the 1940’s, but they weighed too much to be practical.
Today, a modern EV, it’s a totally different environment.
I drive an EV. It gets 350 miles per charge.
I will never have a:
Antifreeze leak.
Oil change.
Bad spark plug.
Tune up.
Transmission leak.
Power steering leak.
Leaky valve.
Leaky rings.
Transmission failure.
Clogged fuel injector.
Air filter change.
Fuel filter change.
New engine.
The list goes on and on.
Will I need a battery? Yes. Put it up on a lift, drop the old one out, put the new one in. Brand new. Not a big deal.
I would much rather have to replace a battery than put a rebuilt engine in the car. Engine, 5K, Trans, 5K. Battery, 10K.
People laughed at flat screen TV’s 20 years ago and laugh at EV’s today. Let them laugh.
I don’t care that a coal fired plant fuels my car. I like warm weather, and if burning coal makes it warmer, all the better. But I think it’s all BS.
Haha sucker.
cost
cost of replacement: Same as Engine and transmission.
fire: My EV has yet to burst into flames, but have seen ICE cars flamed out.
weight/road damage: my car, Same weight as an SUV.
road barrier obliteration: Same weight as an SUV.
sourcing: What is that?
cold weather battery life: Put it in the garage and shut the door. Time it to automatically warm the batter for 15 minutes before you drive it, as its plugged in.
emergency evacuation charging: Same as gas. Electric pumps stop working. I was driving in an SUV from PA to FL. A tornado ripped through a town just as I needed gas. All gas station were dead, no electricity. Hurricane Sandy, same thing. No gas electricity to pump the gas.
charging stations: 350 miles per charge. Charge it in the garage every night. I have yet to be stranded. Drive 200 miles, take a break for 15 minutes and charge it back to full charge in 15 minutes.
battery addiction (when will I need & where is my next charge coming from ?) : Battery charge anxiety, charge it every night, you’ll have 350 mile range every morning. No anxiety. Map shows all charging station on the trip.
Are these cars for everyone? No. If you drive 30K miles a year, in snow half the year, no, not worth it.
What the heck are you driving and where do charge on road trips?
I don’t buy gas anymore. You do.
It costs me about 10 bucks to drive 300 miles.
I pull into a gas station to get a coffee for 5 bucks and
you load up with 60 bucks of gasoline.
When we leave the gas station, you watch me go from 0 to 60 in four seconds, with 480 horse power, and I watch you disappear in my rear view mirror as you wait for a gap in traffic to accommodate a 12 second 0 to 60 transition.
I will never ever buy an ICE again.
I will never buy a can of gas again. I swapped out my lawn mower for a battery powered lawn mower.
And when a power outage occurs in my home because of a storm, I hook up my car to the breaker panel, and I have power as they fix the downed wires.
Sucker? I own 100K in stock in BP and Chevron and other assorted energy companies, and you pay me every time you start the car. Please don’t get an EV, you’re buying my lunch every day and paying gas taxes for road work that I don’t have to pay. Thank you.
Sourcing refers to lithium mining, and then later disposal....but I’m sure you’ve got that figured out, too.
I hope your good fortune continues...
A Hyundai Ioniq6, and I charge at Electrify America, free of charge for two years. But, if possible, I prefer to drain the battery and charge at home at a slower rate, over night, and skip the stop. I also charge for free at some shopping outlets.
Long road trip, I set the screen to show charging stations with over 50KW capability. Pull into a place, start the charge, get lunch or dinner. The machine sends a text that the car is fully charged. 350 range again. On my way.
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