Batteries

Owing to its abundance and low cost, lead is an alternative battery material with plenty of appeal, and scientists have just demonstrated how it can form the basis of a new anode that offers far greater storage capacity than graphite.

A research team in Japan has come up with a way of incorporating silicon into lithium battery anodes that overcomes the durability issues that have plagued such efforts so far, through tiny nano-scale arches that bring some much-needed strength.

A team at the University of Central Florida has put forward a seawater-based battery design that ticks some key boxes, by using seawater in place of flammable and toxic electrolytes and a new anode to improve durability.

Australia’s Hunter Valley is set to become home to the world’s biggest battery. At 1.2 gigawatts, it will set a new global benchmark – albeit one that’s sure to be eclipsed as the benefits of these giant grid-scale batteries become better understood.

In 2019, we looked at an innovative battery for electric vehicles that could be charged in 10 minutes. The researchers behind it have now added a couple more desirable attributes, including a cost they say is on par with internal combustion engines.

Whether it is crafting the world’s fastest electrodes or building battery parts out of microwaved plastic, 2020 showed us just how imaginative scientists can be when it comes developing technologies for next-generation energy storage.

In an effort to assist the shift away from the rare and expensive metal cobalt, scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed an alternative nickel-based battery architecture, which they say ticks a few important boxes.

QuantumScape has announced stunning performance figures for what may be the first commercially viable solid-state lithium-metal battery. It's claimed to add as much as 80% to the range of an electric car, and charge from 0-80% in just 15 minutes.

Scientists investigating an experimental battery chemistry have developed a flexible device they say offers up to 10 times the energy density of current lithium-ion solutions, making it an ideal fit for a number of applications.

A research team in Russia has discovered a new bright, blue mineral they say could solve one of the problems with sodium-ion batteries, which shape as a far more cost-effective form of energy storage than today's solutions.

Scientists at the University of Central Florida studying alternative lithium battery designs have come up with a modification to one they say could lead to great performance gains, thanks to a new protective coating for one of its electrodes.

Battery researchers are continually experimenting with alternative materials in an effort to boost performance, and a group from Stanford University and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory is claiming to have landed on a winner.