Posted on 04/06/2015 1:10:36 PM PDT by Red Badger
Stanford University scientists have invented the first high-performance aluminum battery that's fast-charging, long-lasting and inexpensive. Researchers say the new technology offers a safe alternative to many commercial batteries in wide use today. "We have developed a rechargeable aluminum battery that may replace existing storage devices, such as alkaline batteries, which are bad for the environment, and lithium-ion batteries, which occasionally burst into flames," said Hongjie Dai, a professor of chemistry at Stanford. "Our new battery won't catch fire, even if you drill through it."
Dai and his colleagues describe their novel aluminum-ion battery in "An ultrafast rechargeable aluminum-ion battery," in the April 6 advance online edition of the journal Nature.
Aluminum has long been an attractive material for batteries, mainly because of its low cost, low flammability and high-charge storage capacity. For decades, researchers have tried unsuccessfully to develop a commercially viable aluminum-ion battery. A key challenge has been finding materials capable of producing sufficient voltage after repeated cycles of charging and discharging.
Graphite cathode
An aluminum-ion battery consists of two electrodes: a negatively charged anode made of aluminum and a positively charged cathode.
"People have tried different kinds of materials for the cathode," Dai said. "We accidentally discovered that a simple solution is to use graphite, which is basically carbon. In our study, we identified a few types of graphite material that give us very good performance."
For the experimental battery, the Stanford team placed the aluminum anode and graphite cathode, along with an ionic liquid electrolyte, inside a flexible polymer- coated pouch.
"The electrolyte is basically a salt that's liquid at room temperature, so it's very safe," said Stanford graduate student Ming Gong, co-lead author of the Nature study.
Aluminum batteries are safer than conventional lithium-ion batteries used in millions of laptops and cell phones today, Dai added.
"Lithium-ion batteries can be a fire hazard," he said.
As an example, he pointed to recent decisions by United and Delta airlines to ban bulk lithium-battery shipments on passenger planes.
"In our study, we have videos showing that you can drill through the aluminum battery pouch, and it will continue working for a while longer without catching fire," Dai said. "But lithium batteries can go off in an unpredictable manner - in the air, the car or in your pocket. Besides safety, we have achieved major breakthroughs in aluminum battery performance."
One example is ultra-fast charging. Smartphone owners know that it can take hours to charge a lithium-ion battery. But the Stanford team reported "unprecedented charging times" of down to one minute with the aluminum prototype.
Durability is another important factor. Aluminum batteries developed at other laboratories usually died after just 100 charge-discharge cycles. But the Stanford battery was able to withstand more than 7,500 cycles without any loss of capacity. "This was the first time an ultra-fast aluminum-ion battery was constructed with stability over thousands of cycles," the authors wrote.
By comparison, a typical lithium-ion battery lasts about 1,000 cycles.
"Another feature of the aluminum battery is flexibility," Gong said. "You can bend it and fold it, so it has the potential for use in flexible electronic devices. Aluminum is also a cheaper metal than lithium."
Applications
In addition to small electronic devices, aluminum batteries could be used to store renewable energy on the electrical grid, Dai said.
"The grid needs a battery with a long cycle life that can rapidly store and release energy," he explained. "Our latest unpublished data suggest that an aluminum battery can be recharged tens of thousands of times. It's hard to imagine building a huge lithium-ion battery for grid storage."
Aluminum-ion technology also offers an environmentally friendly alternative to disposable alkaline batteries, Dai said.
"Millions of consumers use 1.5-volt AA and AAA batteries," he said. "Our rechargeable aluminum battery generates about two volts of electricity. That's higher than anyone has achieved with aluminum."
But more improvements will be needed to match the voltage of lithium-ion batteries, Dai added.
"Our battery produces about half the voltage of a typical lithium battery," he said. "But improving the cathode material could eventually increase the voltage and energy density. Otherwise, our battery has everything else you'd dream that a battery should have: inexpensive electrodes, good safety, high-speed charging, flexibility and long cycle life. I see this as a new battery in its early days. It's quite exciting."
More information: An ultrafast rechargeable aluminum-ion battery, DOI: 10.1038/nature14340
“Liquid fuel gives >350 mile range, with re-charge in less than 5 minutes. THAT is the primary goal for any other vehicular energy storage method. Until the “alternative” energy vehicle can meet or exceed that standard, it will NOT be competitive with liquid fuel.”
You forgot to add the following requirement:
1. Smells great for miles after stepping in gas puddle while filling up.
“How long does it take to fill a gasoline/diesel tank? That is the real measure.”
It takes about 30 minutes to travel to and fill a gas car.
It takes 30 seconds to plug in an electric car.
That's a very strange and imprecisely stated comment.
Here's a picture for you:
Now: show me a battery driven car with >350 miles range and < 5 minutes recharge time and you might begin to capture my interest. My driving pattern is radically different from your wife's driving pattern.
Just enough time to smoke a cigarette and drink a beer. Perfect.
You either "meet or exceed" them, or you "fail to meet" them.
Currently, you "fail to meet" these precise, objectively measurable requirements. I admire the work you're doing in battery and motor technology, but the result of such work does not yet even come close to meeting my requirements.
Carry on.
“That’s a very strange and imprecisely stated comment. “
Because that gasoline fire started with ‘properly storage requirements’ for liquid fuel. Obviously, since you said it was not stored safely, you believe that the existing requirements are insufficient.
Please provide evidence of this assertion.
“Now: show me a battery driven car with >350 miles range and < 5 minutes recharge time and you might begin to capture my interest. My driving pattern is radically different from your wife’s driving pattern”
To each his own. Just because a vehicle does not meet your requirements doesn’t mean that it is NOT an acceptable means of transportation.
My requirement for a functional car is that it go from 0 to 60 in less than 5 seconds. Does your car meet that criteria? If not then it is not an acceptable form of transportation.
“Currently, you “fail to meet” these precise, objectively measurable requirements. “
Does your vehicle meet that following precise, objectively measurable requirements?
1. Accelerate 0-60 is less than 5 seconds,
2. Stop 60-0 in less than 110 feet,
4. Obtain > .98g on skidpad.
If not, it is not an acceptable car.
Can your car meet that requirement? How do you know?
So don't buy it.
“So don’t buy it. “
Correct. The car I drive should have acceptable braking performance. The requirement is to be able to stop 60 to0 in less than 100 feet. Unless your car can do that, it is not acceptable and unsafe.
You (the electric car crowd) are trying to sell a product with a LONG history of market failure.
I'm telling you, flatly:
1) WHY it has a long history of market failure.
2) WHAT you will have to do, to have any hope of it being a market success.
You can ignore me, you can throw up irrelevancies, you can go whining to the government for subsidies and tax credits ...
But UNTIL you fix the fundamental problems with the product you're peddling, it will continue to be a market failure.
Improve the range. Dramatically. 200 miles is a joke.
Improve the recharge time. Dramatically. 30 minutes for a partial recharge is a joke.
Now ... maybe this aluminum-ion battery will help. Maybe it will help a lot. I don't know ... batteries aren't my specialty. I admire the work of those who are trying to improve battery technology.
I don't admire the spewing of metaphorical squid-ink by those who try to obfuscate the current clear inferiority of battery technology to liquid fuel technology. These people, I hold in contempt.
Good day.
“You (the electric car crowd) are trying to sell a product with a LONG history of market failure.”
No. I am for a safe car. Does your car qualify as safe?
Can it stop from 60 in less than 110 feet? If not it is unsafe.
Quit trying to deny it. Your puking up ink like a scared squid. You're better than that.
>350 miles.
<5 miles
Deal with it.
End of discussion.
Looks like it is being done:
http://marketrealist.com/2014/06/luxury-battery-vehicle-large-teslas-market/
“... improving the cathode material could eventually increase the voltage and energy density.”
Low energy density is the basic problem with batteries.
Fuel is always orders of magnitude better.
Sounds like this kind is even worse than what we use now.
But cheap.
I read where use of graphite in the form of carbon nanotubes as a battery cathode increases the surface area by a huge amount.
So if these guys could get together...............
This includes cars like the Volt that have a 40 mile electric range with a gasoline backup range of 340 miles. Basically it turns into a regular gasoline car (with good mpg) when the battery runs out.
Other plug-in hybrids include the BMW i3 Rex with a 72 mile electric range, and the Ford Fusion Energi and Ford C-Max Energi which both have a 20 mile electric range.
By choosing one of these cars that has enough electric range to meet your daily driving needs, you can drive on electricity 90% of the time, while never having to worry about range anxiety because they all fall back to gasoline when the battery is out of juice.
Prices are also coming down to. You can get a new Volt now for $30,000 and this does not even include the tax rebates. Compare that to the average price of new cars in the united states: $32,000.
Ooops, fixed.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.