Lithium-ion

Batteries have become much more efficient, but gauging their service life is still extremely difficult and time-consuming. To better predict how long a battery will last, MIT and Toyota have teamed up to employ artificial intelligence to accurately determine battery life without years of testing.

Engineers have developed a new type of hybrid cathode for a lithium-sulfur battery that seems to boast better energy density than existing versions of both lithium-ion and lithium-sulfur batteries.

It what seems like a paradox, engineers have been blowing up batteries in hopes of cleaning up space debris. In a series of severe "abuse" tests at the test bunkers of France’s CEA, lithium-ion batteries were tortured to better understand catastrophic battery failures and prevent battery explosions.

A new study shows how fluoride might be put to work in better batteries. Researchers at Caltech, JPL, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and the Honda Research Institute have developed fluoride-based batteries that could potentially last much longer than existing lithium-ion-based devices.

Scientists have come up with a way to stop damaged lithium-ion batteries catching fire. The batteries effectively harden on impact, preventing the electrodes making contact and starting a fire.

​​So much of focus from researchers in lithium battery circles rests centers on the electrodes. Among them are scientists at Carnegie Mellon University, who have come up with a new way of 3D printing latticed electrodes they say result in an "unprecedented improvement."​

Researchers have found that materials known as niobium tungsten oxides form microscopic structures that let lithium ions flow through them at much greater rates than current technology allows. The finding could be the key to building safe lithium-ion cells that charge in minutes rather than hours.

Striking a balance between common materials and efficiency is important for batteries, and regular old salt looks like it could fit the bill – after a few kinks are ironed out. Now, KAUST researchers have developed a way to make disordered graphene that can improve the sodium-ion battery recipe.

​For years, scientists have seen silicon as a hugely promising material in the world of lithium-ion batteries. Scientists at Norway’s Institute for Energy Technology are now claiming to have overcome some of its limitations with a new material it calls SiliconX.

Combining the unique strengths of lithium batteries with crazy-fast charging, carbon ultra-capacitors could save a ton of weight and add significant range and power to electric vehicles, according to this fascinating French startup.

Seawater is a complex cocktail of useful minerals, but it’s hard to separate the ones we need. Now a team of scientists from Australia and the US has developed a new water desalination technique that can not only make seawater fresh enough to drink, but recover lithium ions for use in batteries.

Batteries are the engine room for so much of the modern world, so there are plenty of folks with an interest in pushing battery technology forward. 2017 brought a raft of exciting breakthroughs aimed at making them safer, longer-lasting and faster-charging. Here's the best of the bunch.