Researchers have turned to artificial intelligence to help sift through the multitude of potential electrolytes to build a next-generation battery that's safe, stable, and highly efficient.
The discovery of powerful electrolytes has been one of the main issues in developing next-gen battery technology to power future electric vehicles, electronic devices, and expand grid-scale energy storage, according to a report shared by Tech Xplore.
A new study on the topic, led by Ritesh Kumar, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Chicago, details the researchers' strategy for finding molecules with the three factors that make an ideal battery electrolyte: ionic conductivity, oxidative stability, and charge cycle efficiency.
The team scoured data from 250 research papers that date back to the beginnings of lithium-ion battery research and, by using AI, were able to calculate what they call the "eScore" for all the different molecules reviewed.
"The champion molecule in one property is not the champion molecule in another," said Kumar's principal investigator, UChicago professor Chibueze Amanchukwu.
So far, the team's process using AI has identified one molecule that performs as well as some of the best electrolyte materials out there, which is a major step forward in a sector that has traditionally relied on trial and error, the report noted.
"These types of data-driven research frameworks are critical to help accelerate the development of new battery materials and to leverage advancements in AI-enabled science and laboratory automation," added Jeffrey Lopez, an assistant professor at Northwestern University who was not involved in the research.
Batteries are a cornerstone of our shift toward more sustainable energy sources, allowing us to store energy for later use, both for the electrical grid that's supplied by intermittent sources like solar and wind, and to power vehicles and devices without resorting to dirty fuels.
Electric vehicles are far more efficient than gas-guzzlers and don't have tailpipe pollution, making them a more sustainable choice. Estimates suggest the U.S. may have as many as 26 million on the road by 2030, and most of them use lithium-ion batteries.
However, mining for all those raw materials isn't a sustainable way forward for the industry, marking the need for more efficient and eco-friendly alternatives for battery design.
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Absolutely 💯 "If we look at really transitioning to electric vehicles and to renewables that need more grid-level storage, we won't be able to get there with just lithium ion," said Emily Ryan, an associate professor at Boston University, in a related report.
The University of Chicago team explained that with the theoretical number of electrolyte molecules that could be used for batteries being so vast — an estimated 10 to the power 60 — the help that AI offers is invaluable, although it is an energy-hungry process.
"It would have been impossible for us to go through hundreds of millions of compounds to say, 'Oh, I think we should study this one,'" Amanchukwu said.
More efficient next-generation batteries can help us expand our renewable infrastructure and support our overall goal of shifting to clean energy, but it's a multitiered quest.
"Batteries are a lot more complex than they seem because they have all these impacts beyond where you're using them," added Benjamin Sovacool, director of Boston University's Institute for Global Sustainability. "Truly sustainable solutions integrate mining, the design of batteries, all the way into waste."
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