A battery partnership leveraging expertise from Taiwan and France has experts building packs with a clear plan for how to tear them apart.
And while it may sound counterproductive, a news release from Taipei battery maker ProLogium stated that the modular setup it is designing with technological research organization CEA can provide regional industry autonomy and support the shift to cleaner energy. CEA, the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, brings experience in engineering, testing, and validation to the table.
"This innovative architecture allows the module to be removed from the battery pack, and easily disassembled to access the cells," per the release.
The key wins are easier repairs, recycling, and reuse.
ProLogium has already made headlines for its work with silicon battery anodes. The "design-for-disassembly" project is a solid-state battery that uses a firm electrolyte, or middle. Typical lithium-ion packs use a liquid version that carries a rare yet serious fire risk. During operation, ions travel through the electrolyte as they cycle back and forth between the two electrodes.
Solid-state packs are considered safer and lighter, and they charge faster and last longer, than conventional batteries. But an affordable manufacturing process has been a hurdle, according to Top Speed.
Porsche and other companies have been logging breakthroughs, and ProLogium seems to have another one with its easy-to-disassemble unit.
The materials needed to build a battery are expensive, and many require invasive mining to be gathered and processed. Repairing, reusing, and recycling the parts can limit the amount of new components that are needed. And while Sustainability by Numbers reported that millions of tons of deposits will be needed to power the cleaner-energy switch, it's far short of the 16.5 billion tons of dirty fossil fuels hauled from Earth each year.
"This not only embodies the principles of a circular economy but also provides France and Europe with a concrete, scalable solution to upgrade and integrate their regional battery supply chains and recycling industries," the experts said.
If the technology can contribute to already decreasing battery prices, it could help to lower the cost of EVs and other tech. Each EV that replaces a gas-burning ride prevents thousands of pounds of heat-trapping air pollution via harmful tailpipe gases. The fumes can worsen asthma and other lung-related health problems, according to the Allergy and Asthma Network.
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At ProLogium, a prototype of the unique modular pack has been created.
The company is a "leading actor in … advancing the energy transition while contributing to core strategic objectives such as industrial autonomy, carbon neutrality, and circular economy practices," per the release.
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