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So what is the latest promising battery tech in 2021? Are we going to see a decent factor density improvement over Lithium ion anytime soon?

by nly 5y ago

jacquesm 5y ago
There are many more factors at play here besides density (though that is one of the most important ones if not the most important one). Longevity, cycle time, fast charging, cost and so on are all important factors too. There are already battery chemistries that are ahead on some of these but afaik there isn't a clear winner yet for a new chemistry, but if it comes I would expect Lithium to be at least one of the ingredients, it is just too tempting a material property wise for this application.
Tade0 5y ago
Currently most of the innovation happens in the most "boring" parts: - Recently LiFePO4 achieved energy densities on par with alternatives while retaining its long cycle life. - Sodium-ion is gaining momentum, but it's not meant to be particularly energy-dense - just cheaper and longer living. All this is working to reduce the cost per kWh - which will likely remain stable for the next few years because of high demand. Meanwhile solid state electrolyte batteries are still a long way from commercialization.
- cogman10 5y ago
  +1 I'd also say the 2 techs that are interesting less for their density aspect and more for longevity are flow batteries and liquid metal batteries. Both would solely be used for grid storage (Flow MIGHT be used for home storage). Flow batteries are interesting because they have an very long cycle life and their storage capacity is based on how big a holding tank you have (fill the tank, get more storage). They are less interesting because they require mechanical pumps to operate. Liquid metal batteries are interesting because of their cycle life and they are made out of pretty cheap materials. They are less interesting because they have very high operating temperature requirements.
deleted 5y ago
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JohnJamesRambo 5y ago
Maybe this is as good as it gets and we are at the plateau phase. https://cleantechnica.com/files/2020/02/bloomberg-nef-battery-lithium-ion-cell-energy-density-chart-graph-BNEF-e1584816329479.png https://cleantechnica.com/files/2020/02/bloomberg-nef-batter... I think we seem to think here that things can improve indefinitely but some constants come from physics. https://www.briangwilliams.us/economic-growth-2/images/900_47_39-engine-efficiency-2010-2000-1990-1980.jpg https://www.briangwilliams.us/economic-growth-2/images/900_4...

So what is the latest promising battery tech in 2021? Are we going to see a decent factor density improvement over Lithium ion anytime soon?

by nly 5y ago

So what is the latest promising battery tech in 2021? Are we going to see a decent factor density improvement over Lithium ion anytime soon?

jacquesm 5y ago

There are many more factors at play here besides density (though that is one of the most important ones if not the most important one). Longevity, cycle time, fast charging, cost and so on are all important factors too. There are already battery chemistries that are ahead on some of these but afaik there isn't a clear winner yet for a new chemistry, but if it comes I would expect Lithium to be at least one of the ingredients, it is just too tempting a material property wise for this application.

Tade0 5y ago

Currently most of the innovation happens in the most "boring" parts: - Recently LiFePO4 achieved energy densities on par with alternatives while retaining its long cycle life. - Sodium-ion is gaining momentum, but it's not meant to be particularly energy-dense - just cheaper and longer living. All this is working to reduce the cost per kWh - which will likely remain stable for the next few years because of high demand. Meanwhile solid state electrolyte batteries are still a long way from commercialization.

cogman10 5y ago
+1 I'd also say the 2 techs that are interesting less for their density aspect and more for longevity are flow batteries and liquid metal batteries. Both would solely be used for grid storage (Flow MIGHT be used for home storage). Flow batteries are interesting because they have an very long cycle life and their storage capacity is based on how big a holding tank you have (fill the tank, get more storage). They are less interesting because they require mechanical pumps to operate. Liquid metal batteries are interesting because of their cycle life and they are made out of pretty cheap materials. They are less interesting because they have very high operating temperature requirements.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

JohnJamesRambo 5y ago

Maybe this is as good as it gets and we are at the plateau phase. https://cleantechnica.com/files/2020/02/bloomberg-nef-battery-lithium-ion-cell-energy-density-chart-graph-BNEF-e1584816329479.png https://cleantechnica.com/files/2020/02/bloomberg-nef-batter... I think we seem to think here that things can improve indefinitely but some constants come from physics. https://www.briangwilliams.us/economic-growth-2/images/900_47_39-engine-efficiency-2010-2000-1990-1980.jpg https://www.briangwilliams.us/economic-growth-2/images/900_4...