If there’s one thing we know about the desires of smartphone buyers the world over, it’s that we always want more battery power. No matter how high of a capacity batteries have, it seems like they could always have more To be fair, battery capacity is definitely increasing; just not at a fast enough rate. But that could change soon because of a team of Norwegian nanoscientists who successfully devised a method that could potentially increase smartphone battery capacity by a factor of five, via Business Insider.
A Norwegian team of nanoscientists has devised a method of creating hybrid silicon batteries.The team claims that its batteries could be three-to-five times as powerful as current lithium-ion batteries.Industrial testing of the hybrid silicon batteries will begin soon.
Those of you who are knowledgeable about how batteries work will probably scoff and say that we already know that silicon will make better batteries than the graphite-based batteries we enjoy today. 400 percent as it functions within the battery’s construction.
The Norwegian team, however, has figured out a new way to create an ideal combo of graphite and silicon that will make batteries last much longer without high-speed degradation. This would not only help smartphone batteries have a higher potential capacity, but also electric vehicle batteries, laptop batteries, and any other product that has a rechargeable power source.
A company called Kjeller Innovation is already hard at work to commercialize the technology, calling the project Silicon X. It is already in talks with various partners to begin testing the hybrid silicon batteries in industrial processes.
However, Kjeller Innovation is not the only company trying to optimize lithium-ion batteries. While this is the first time we’ve heard of a successful implementation of significant amounts of silicon in batteries, it may be some other form of design that ends up powering our future electronics. But one thing is for sure: whichever company does dramatically increase battery capacity and successfully commercializes the technology is sure to pull in billions.
Silicon Battery Technology GoodSilicon batteries are lithium-ion batteries tricked out with silicon to replace graphite. Graphite has long been the go-to material for lithium-ion batteries, but silicon offers the allure of longer life and faster charging times along with lower costs, compared to conventional Lithium-ion batteries.
The US Army, for one, is silicon-curious. It has been scouting new silicon battery technology on account of the potential for a significant savings on weight, which is an important considerations for soldiers who are loaded with an increasing amount of electronic gear.
Weight savings is also a consideration for the electric vehicle makers. BMW and General Motors are among the list of automakers staking a claim to silicon-based energy storage.
There being no such thing as a free lunch,c have had to overcome some significant challenges. In a 2017 state-of-play report the US Department of Energy described the main culprit, which involves the instability of the solid electrolyte interphase ( SEI).
“The SEI is a film that forms on the anode active particles that inhibits or stops further reactions between the extremely low voltage lithiated anode and the electrolyte,” the Energy Department explained. “Without this film, or with a film that is not sufficiently passivating (as in silicon), these reactions proceed continuously, consuming Li [lithium] and leading to rapid capacity fade and short cell life.”
Weight savings is also a consideration for the electric vehicle makers. BMW and General Motors are among the list of automakers staking a claim to silicon-based energy storage.
There being no such thing as a free lunch, silicon battery researchers have had to overcome some significant challenges. In a 2017 state-of-play report the US Department of Energy described the main culprit, which involves the instability of the solid electrolyte interphase ( SEI).
“The SEI is a film that forms on the anode active particles that inhibits or stops further reactions between the extremely low voltage lithiated anode and the electrolyte,” the Energy Department explained. “Without this film, or with a film that is not sufficiently passivating (as in silicon), these reactions proceed continuously, consuming Li [lithium] and leading to rapid capacity fade and short cell life.”
NEO also adds that its technology “significantly improves the life span and cycling stability compared to conventional metallurgical silicon-based particles.”
ode materials at “semi-commercial scale.”Meanwhile, the newly announced agreement with the yet-to-be-named university is aimed at achieving additional performance improvements by pairing NEO’s silicon anodes with the mystery school’s advanced polymer electrolyte.
NEO also points out that polymer electrolytes are non-flammable, providing for safety improvements.
Though apparently there is more work to be done, NEO is cautiously optimistic. “NEO and the Developer acknowledge that creative, yet fast-paced R&D and collaboration must occur to scale both Parties’ technologies into commercial-level products and outputs,” the company stated in its announcement.
Board member Dr. Jinhyuk Lee, for example, holds degrees from MIT and UC-Berkeley among many (many, many) career achievements. He is currently an assistant professor at McGill University.
Following the trail of academic connections, we see that the Balsara lab at UC-Berkeley specializes in polymer electrolytes.
Based on our patents, group alumni have cofounded two battery start-up companies: Seeo (founded in 2007) and Blue Current (founded in 2014),” the lab states on its website.
Blue Current is new to the CleanTechnica radar, so we have some catching up to do. “The company manufactures 100% dry, safe and high performance silicon elastic composite solid-state batteries to power the new energy economy including electric vehicles, grid storage and consumer electronics,” the company states on its website.
The plot thickens when you consider that Blue Current is partners in the Energy Department’s energy storage research hub JCESR, which is short for Joint Center for Energy Storage Research. The consortium launched in 2012 during the Obama administration with Argonne National Laboratory at the helm. 2017 recap, JCESR highlighted three startups that leveraged JCESR energy storage properties, including Blue Current as well as the polymer membrane specialist Sepion and the long duration energy storage company Form Energy, which is setting up a new factory in West Virginia.
Many Roads To The Silicon Battery Of The Future
Still more thickening of the plot occurred last December 22, when Businesswire distributed a press release that apparently speaks for JCESR, Argonne, and Blue Current all at once. The release credits JCESR for enabling Blue Current to “develop a safe, solid-state battery that is ready for megawatt-scale manufacturing.”
The press release notes that Blue Current’s composite electrolyte eliminates the need for metal plates and bolts, and that the target market is electric vehicles.
“As part of rigorous safety testing, the company subjected its cells to harsh conditions that electric vehicles could encounter in the real world. Thermal runaway — an overheating event that can lead to fires — never occurred,” the release emphasizes.