In today’s lithium batteries, the problem is cobalt.
It’s necessary to stabilize lithium, boost the amount of energy a battery can store, and extend a battery’s life. But mining it is damaging to human health and Mother Nature, soaring demand for lithium batteries threatens a cobalt shortage, and most of the world’s deposits are in Africa and Russia, neither of which is easy or risk-free to deal in.
All of these factors make it expensive – so much so that the cobalt in batteries can account for as much as half their cost.
Now, thanks to engineers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, we may be able to dispense with cobalt as a battery staple.
The researchers have developed cathodes that use iron, aluminum, and an alloy of nickel and lithium in place of cobalt. In tests, these batteries retain 88 percent of their charging capacity over 100 charge-and-discharge cycles. Using another recipe of the same materials, test cells held onto 72 percent of their charging capacity after 200 cycles.
The developers say the cells can be made within existing battery-making processes and factories.
Next, the scientists will test larger versions of the new battery in appliances and electric vehicles.
TRENDPOST: By 2030, toxic heavy metals will no longer need to be part of our batteries, which increasingly will be made from environmentally neutral materials that are relatively easy to recycle and re-use.
