Lithium-Ion Batteries: The Future of Batteries

Battery manufacturers and purchasers are racing to comprehend next-generation battery technologies.

FREMONT, CA: There is a need for more power in the world, preferably one that is clean and renewable. Lithium-ion batteries are currently shaping energy storage strategies—at the cutting edge of such technology—but what is on the horizon?

A battery is a cluster of one or more cells, with each cell containing a positive electrode (the cathode), a negative electrode (the anode), a separator, and an electrolyte. Using different chemicals and materials affects the battery's properties, such as the amount of energy it can store and output, the amount of power it provides, and the number of times it can be discharged and recharged (also called cycling capacity). Battery manufacturers are continually experimenting with new chemistries that are less expensive, denser, lighter, and more potent.

NEW-GENERATION LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES

 Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries stores and release energy by moving lithium ions back and forth between positive and negative electrodes via the electrolyte. In this technology, the positive electrode serves as the initial lithium source, whereas the negative electrode serves as the lithium host. Multiple chemistries are grouped under li-ion batteries, resulting from decades of near-perfect selection and optimization of positive and negative active materials. Presently, lithiated metal oxides and phosphates are commonly used as positive materials. Negative materials consist of graphite, graphite/silicon, and lithiated titanium oxides.

In the coming years, li-ion technology will reach an energy limit based on current cell and material designs. However, recent discoveries of new families of disruptive active materials should remove existing restrictions. These novel compounds can store more lithium in positive and negative electrodes, enabling the first-ever combination of energy and power. These new compounds also take into account raw material scarcity and importance.

What are its benefits?

Li-ion battery technology currently offers the highest energy density among all contemporary storage technologies. The variety of cell designs and chemistries allows fine-tuning performance characteristics such as rapid charging and temperature operating window (-50°C to 125°C). In addition, Li-ion batteries have a meager self-discharge rate and a very long lifetime and cycling performance, typically thousands of charging/discharging cycles.

When can people anticipate it?

It is anticipated that the second generation of advanced li-ion batteries will be deployed before the first generation of solid-state batteries. They will be ideal for high-energy, high-power, and safety applications, such as Energy Storage Systems for renewables and transportation (marine, railways, aviation, and off-road mobility).