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The formula for typical EV battery cathodes—the terminal where the electric current flows out to spin a motor—is known as NMC811, because the cathode is 80 percent nickel, 10 percent manganese, and 10 percent cobalt.
German start-up Theion’s new EV battery cathode could be called S100 because it’s all sulfur—the fifth most common element on Earth.
Theion’s tests indicate that swapping sulfur for the more rare and costly metals could give an EV sedan a range of 900 miles using cathodes that cost less than a tenth of what today’s terminals do, in part because sulfur uses far less energy to process than metals.
In addition, Theion has replaced the aluminum and copper in its battery with graphene, the one-atom-thick sheet of carbon that has been shown to be the most efficient electrical conductor known.
As a result, the only ingredients in the company’s battery are graphene, sulfur, and lithium-ion foil, which will make them easier to recycle.
Theion plans to test its technology with unnamed aerospace firms later this year, then create tiny versions for cell phones and portable computers before going full EV in 2024.
Theion’s development builds on engineering out of Drexel University that found a way to add sulfur to a battery’s electrolyte. Calculations confirmed the change could extend today’s EV range by three times.
Just as important, the performance of Drexel’s sulfur battery didn’t degrade through 4,000 charge-and-discharge cycles, roughly equivalent to ten year’s use in an EV.
TREND FORECAST: EVs’ production costs and sticker prices will rise in the next few years as materials shortages and cost inflation continue.
Later this decade, batteries—which can make up as much as 40 percent of an EV’s retail price—will adopt new commercial technologies able to moderate those costs and make EVs affordable for more people as demand increases.