Many breakthrough innovations leave a trail of lab reports in their wake after hours of analysis needed to bring them to fruition. Findings now being documented as part of lithium-sulfur research in Germany could be leading to something big.
That's because a team made of experts from Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology, as well as Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, analyzed pouch cells with advanced spectroscopy, X-ray imaging, and other scans. The researchers gauged temperature, force measurement, and other metrics as the cell charged and discharged, according to Tech Xplore.
"Our results bridge the gap between basic research and technology transfer, and in particular allow conclusions to be drawn about the scalability of this battery technology and the further development of high-energy battery systems," Helmholtz physicist Sebastian Risse said in the summary.
Lithium-sulfur packs use low-cost materials and can reach high energy density, which is the amount of electricity that can be stored. The perks make them a high-ceiling candidate to replace common lithium-ion packs, which use expensive and hard-to-gather materials.
But they also suffer from shorter lifespans, lower conductivity, and volume expansion during operations, which can impact performance. Dendrites, branch-like metallic structures that grow inside of packs and hinder operation, are another issue for the chemistry, all according to Tech Xplore and Chinese battery maker UFine. UFine wasn't involved with the research in Germany.
"Our research aims to elucidate these processes in order to improve this type of battery," Risse said.
Lithium-sulfur science is showing promise in labs around the world. At the University of Adelaide in Australia, experts have developed a prototype that can charge/discharge in under five minutes. The researchers there noted that the pack type typically takes hours to charge. Elsewhere, Cambridge spinoff Molyon is leveraging millions of dollars in investments to perfect a lithium-sulfur battery.
In Germany, the researchers concluded that a perforated, lighter cathode current collector "does not impair the performance of the cell," as one of the insights gained so far. Ions travel between an anode and a cathode through a substance called electrolyte during operation, as described by the U.S. Energy Department.
"The results of this study will help to optimize the performance and lifetime of lithium-sulfur batteries, so that this promising battery type can meet the requirements of mobile and stationary energy storage systems," the team wrote, per Tech Xplore.
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Definitely 👍 Less-expensive, better-performing batteries are important as the transition to cleaner energy sources for travel and storage continues. It's important to note that while common lithium-ion batteries are expensive, requiring invasive mining and foreign supply chains to make, the amount of metals being pulled from the ground for them pales in comparison to the volume of fossil fuels hauled from the Earth each year, according to Sustainability by Numbers.
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The difference is 7.7 million tons of cleaner tech-related minerals compared to 16.5 billion tons of coal, gas, and oil annually, per the report. Cleaner batteries and reduced nonrenewable fuel use can limit the production of heat-trapping air pollution, which has been linked by the American Lung Association to respiratory and other health risks.
You can help at home with some advantageous upgrades. Induction stoves and heat pumps are among ways to score with cleaner, efficient tech that can save you serious cash — up to a grand or more a year in some cases — in the long run.
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