For years, the Holy Grail of battery research has been making solid-state battery cells that replace the liquid electrolyte in conventional cells with solid materials.
Solid-state batteries are believed to be cheaper to produce, have higher energy density, and have a longer lifespan than conventional lithium-ion batteries.
Provided, if someone can crack the final code for commercially viable cells.
In the mean time a research published by Tesla’s battery guru Jeff Dahn and his team reveals they have created new lithium-ion pouch cells that may outperform solid-state technology battery.
“Here, we show that anode-free lithium-metal pouch cells with a dual-salt LiDFOB/LiBF4 liquid electrolyte have 80% capacity remaining after 90 charge–discharge cycles, which is the longest life demonstrated to date for cells with zero excess lithium. The liquid electrolyte enables smooth dendrite-free lithium morphology comprised of densely packed columns even after 50 charge — discharge cycles. NMR measurements reveal that the electrolyte salts responsible for the excellent lithium morphology are slowly consumed during cycling.”
There is a lot of research and testing left to do before they becomes suitable for commercial production, but they may signal an important step forward for energy storage in the years ahead.
Reference- Clean Technica, Nature Energy Journal