The New Lithium-air Battery Technology
Argonne researcher Lynn Trahey loads a coin-sized cell on a testing unit used to evaluate electrochemical cycling performance in batteries. (Credit: Photo by Wes Agresta / Courtesy of Argonne National Laboratory)
Did you know that In excess of seven million barrels of gasoline are consumed by vehicles in the United States every day?
The race is on to find environmentally sound solutions to fuel the world’s ever growing transportation needs and scientist have now turned to the Lithium-air battery technology as another potential solution!
Tell me more about Lithium-air batteries…
They use a catalytic air cathode that supplies oxygen, an electrolyte and a lithium anode. The technology has the potential to store almost as much energy as a tank of gasoline, and will have a capacity for energy storage that is 5 to 10 times greater than that of Li-ion batteries.
Who is behind this effort?
Researchers at the U. S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory.
However…
There’s a word of caution from the researchers…
This is not a near-term technology. It will take time and collaborations across several scientific disciplines to address the four main challenges of this battery development effort: safety, cost, life and performance. It goes without saying that if these efforts do pay off the potential will be enormous!
via: Scienedaily and DOE/Argonne National Laboratory
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