In today's hyper connected, electrically fuelled civilization, batteries are everywhere. I'm sure the gadget you're reading this right now is powered by a battery. Do you get a low-battery notification? What if you could go a month without having to charge your phone or laptop? What if you could drive your electric car for 1,000 miles on a single charge?
Every day, an average person comes into contact with quite some batteries. Our modern lives are quite literally powered by batteries, from the cars we drive to the phones in our pockets. But it wasn't
long ago that practically all electrical power came from enormous coal-fired power plants that burned precious fossil resources. The invention of batteries propelled humanity into the technological revolution, and battery technology has advanced significantly since then. In the realm of technology, advancements
are continual, and no firm is more closely identified with progress than Elon Musk's Tesla.
Lithium ion batteries are used in almost every electric vehicle today. They're decent, but they're heavy and take a long time to charge for the amount of energy they can hold. To add insult to injury, the energy density of decomposed organisms destructively excavated from the Earth still exceeds the energy density of most electric car batteries by more than 100 times.
One kilogram of gasoline contains about 48 mega joules of energy, and lithium ion battery packs only contain about 0.3 mega joules of energy per kilogram. What's more, lithium batteries degrade with each charging cycle gradually losing capacity over the battery's lifetime. Researchers often compare batteries by the number of full cycles until the battery has only 80% of its original energy capacity remaining.
At the end of 2020, Tesla held what was called Battery Day. The presentation shed light on Tesla's current endeavour to develop innovative batteries for use in its electric vehicles. The firm announced plans to start mining their own lithium in order to fund the development of a battery that, according to the
company, will lower the cost of a Tesla to just 25,000 dollars. With the more affordable vehicle, Tesla would be at the top of affordable green technology, allowing them to reach a whole new consumer base. Tesla isn't the only company that is making strides. Let's look at five battery innovations that will impact
the world in the future.
A battery is a self-contained power source that employs chemicals to produce a finite amount of energy through a chemical process. A chemical process inside the cell converts chemical energy into electrical energy, but it requires three independent components to do so: an anode, a cathode, and an electrolyte. There are two electrodes inside the cell, with a chemical electrolyte between them.
The two electrical connections are designated with a plug, plus for positive and a minus for negative and are safely wrapped inside a casing. This limited energy source is self-contained and does not require you
to connect it to your home's wiring in order to use power generated at a plant. One of the few disadvantages of batteries is that their efficiency degrades over time. Battery life and cost are two of the most important elements to consider while creating future batteries, as the maximum amount of charge they can hold begins to decrease.
Solid State Electrolytes or solid State Batteries.
The electrolyte is a chemical medium that allows electrical charges to flow from the anode to the cathode. When a battery is inserted into a device, the chemical reaction occurs on the electrodes and the chemical electrolyte medium is there to allow the battery to be conductive and charge and discharge the battery. One of the biggest advances in battery technology is actually the introduction of solid state electrolytes. These batteries replace the liquid electrolyte medium with a new solid state medium, which can hold a greater power density and be safer for consumers.
Lithium ion batteries have been the primary type of battery used to power consumer electronics for the past 30 years. However, due to the flammability of these battery components, hundreds of fires are sparked every year as a result of battery overuse or failure. Solid state electrodes provide greater thermal stability and are a safer option for future electric vehicle batteries. According to preliminary tests, the battery can go up to 500 kilometres on a single charge. These researches on solid state electrolytes are the first step in making batteries that are thinner, cheaper, and safer..
The next step in battery innovation is to concentrate on the other two components of a battery. The two electrodes.
Vertically Aligned Carbon Nanotube Electrodes.
Vertically Aligned Carbon Nanotube Electrodes, or VACN electrodes, are a new innovation that uses a microstructure made up of carbon nanotubes. These tubes are vertically oriented, forming direct channels for ions to flow in straight lines before being gathered at the end of the electrical current. Batteries currently create energy in an inefficient manner. To deliver its charge, a charged ion inside the battery must pass through a powder mixture. This causes the ion to slow down and lose some of its potency.
To establish a straight channel for the ions, the new nanotube design comprises a structure of cylinders aligned like a hairbrush. This permits the ions to deliver more intense charges in a shorter amount of time. This is how scientists devised a mechanism for creating a battery that is more efficient at producing chemical reactions. By making the ion's journey less difficult. These batteries have ten times the power of a lithium ion battery and can triple the current average energy storage capacity while also increasing the battery's lifetime to five times the current average.
The next big thing isn't just a win for the future of energy consumption and storage; it's also a method to stop human rights violations in the battery cell resource gathering stage.
We're discussing cobalt, which is a key component of cathode and lithium ion batteries. Unfortunately, in the Democratic Republic of Congo and throughout Africa, it is a rare, poisonous, and widely exploited resource. People are mistreated and overworked, and child labour is on the rise as a result of the increased demand for cobalt. Much of it is illegally exported and directly fuels the region's armed conflict. Furthermore, the camps frequently generate conditions that encourage deforestation and a variety of human rights violations. For a variety of reasons, cobalt is hazardous, prompting researchers to look for alternatives. Researchers at the University of Texas announced in July 2,020 that they had designed a nickel heavy cathode battery that can closely match the power of traditional cobalt batteries.
Although the energy density of the cobalt-free battery is slightly lower, testing demonstrate that it produces the same amount of voltage, outputs, and charge rates. The good news is that switching to
cobalt-free batteries will reduce the likelihood of cobalt mining, and operations that employ child miners and engage in modern-day slavery will cease to exist. Breakthroughs in zinc manganese oxide batteries have been a long time coming since the early 1990s, and they are excellent for humanity and the
environment on a big scale.
Graphene Batteries.
Graphene could be the substance that eventually replaces lithium-ion batteries, which have been used by the technology industry for decades. A hexagonal or honeycomb-like arrangement of carbon atoms makes up graphene. The fact that graphene is only one atomic layer thick makes it a two-dimensional material. Excellent electrical and thermal conductivity, great flexibility, high strength, and low mass are just a few of the features that this 2D structure produces.
The properties of graphene may be employed in a variety of ways when it comes to batteries. As a battery, graphene is best used as a "supercapacitor." Supercapacitors store current in the same way that a typical battery does, but they can charge and discharge much faster. Graphene batteries are now extremely expensive to produce, but research is aiding in making them a reality.
Lithium-ion batteries have a lower electrical conductivity than graphene. This enables faster-charging cells that can also give extremely high currents. This is especially beneficial for high-capacity car batteries.
Graphene enables far higher capacities. Lithium-ion batteries can store up to 180Wh of energy per kilogramme, but graphene can store up to 1,000Wh. Graphene batteries are also thinner and lighter than lithium-ion batteries. This means that when it will supposedly be used in future electric vehicles, things can be very efficient like the vehicle need not be unnecessarily heavy, the battery compartment will take less space to fit in, they will be able to charge a lot more quicker than how it is today and they will be able to store energy for a longer period of time which will result in reduced frequency of plugging in your EV .
Finally, graphene is a more secure material. While lithium-ion batteries have a strong track record in terms of safety, there have been a few big instances of the batteries flaring up into flames. Overheating, overcharging, and puncturing li-ion batteries can result in chemical imbalances that lead to fire. Graphene is far more stable, flexible, and strong, as well as more resistant to such problems.
Perhaps the most sophisticated and futuristic battery technology on our list, you may never need to change your battery again. Nanowire batteries made of gold are one of the most cutting-edge developments in nanotech research and battery development.
Nanowires are minuscule wires hundreds of times smaller than a human hair, making them extraordinarily conductive. Gold nanowires, in particular, have been demonstrated to be eternally rechargeable, implying that they may be used to produce a battery that could be charged indefinitely. However, because nanowires are so small, they are exceedingly fragile, and gold can be more expensive than traditional materials, hence this technique is still out of reach for mass manufacturing at the moment. This could change in the future, as researchers consider substituting nickel for gold and possibly adding manganese dioxide shelves to address their fragility issues.
They may, however, be worth the money because of the power they provide. Initial testing has revealed that these batteries can withstand over 200000 charges without losing power. A typical battery, for example, only lasts roughly 6000 charges in its lifetime. When we have the right resources and skills, this technology will drastically revolutionise batteries.
So, we are in headed into a future that have a whole host of innovative options of powering not only electric vehicles but also the entire array of battery powered gadgets. So lets hang in tight and look forward for the best alternative to revolutionize the future.