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> TDK Corporation successfully developed a material for CeraCharge, a next-generation solid-state battery with an energy density of 1,000 Wh/L, approximately 10
by loudmax 2y ago
> TDK Corporation successfully developed a material for CeraCharge, a next-generation solid-state battery with an energy density of 1,000 Wh/L, approximately 100 times greater than the energy density of TDK’s conventional solid-state battery.
So, that energy density is 100 times greater than whatever TDK's previous solid-state battery was, not necessarily 100 times other battery technologies.
Also, note that they're measuring the density in Wh/L, or Watt-hours per Liter. That is, they're measuring energy density by volume, not by weight. According to my Perplexity search, lithium-ion batteries have a "volumetric energy density ranging from 250 to 680 Wh/L". So these TDK solid state batteries will have maybe twice that energy density by volume.
That press release doesn't say anything about the weight of these batteries, which is probably why they're not proposing these for vehicles. If these were lighter than lithium-ion batteries, electric car makers would be all over them, looking for ways to get volume production up to lower costs. The fact that they don't mention the energy density by mass suggests that they're no better than lithium-ion.
So this is neat development, if not a major tectonic shift. The use cases TDK proposes, wireless earphones, hearing aids and smartwatches, are applications where size is a more important consideration than weight (below a certain threshold). Good for them! And if TDK can manufacture these cheaply and reliably, I'm sure engineers will come up with other clever uses for this technology.
EDIT: Hearing aids were the first electronic products with transistors, so that is a historically auspicious precedent. Asianometry did a video on transistors in hearing aids here: https://youtu.be/3ykz4JAO91g https://youtu.be/3ykz4JAO91g
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- gorkish 2y agoFrom the available information I estimate they are about 2x the theoretical maximum energy density of lithium ion chemistry or about 4x better than current state of the art lithium ion batteries in mass production. The theoretical ceiling of chemical batteries overall is about 25x higher still, especially when you start including air-breathing chemistries, so their claims are not out of line with what should be possible.
- throwaway81523 2y agoCurrent zinc-air hearing aid batteries (e.g. #675) are 1500+ WH/L. They are not rechargeable though. They are basically miniature fuel cells. They take in outside air to react with the chemistry inside, so they weigh a tiny bit more after they are used up. The energy density is impressive though.
- gorkish 2y agoWait until you get a load of vanadium-boride/air batteries. 27,000Wh/kg. Stuff is like electrochemical TNT
- terribleperson 2y ago675 zinc-air batteries run a UP hearing aid for an impressively long time. Days to weeks, depending on age of the battery and how much use it see. I'm surprised the chemistry doesn't see much use outside of hearing aids. For something where long downtime is undesirable, replaceable batteries are a lot nicer than rechargeable.
- 1024core 2y agoCan these Zinc-Air cells be recycled? Could you take a "used" Zinc-Air cell and process it somehow, to create a brand new Zinc-Air cell? If that works, then you could just equip cars with swappable Zinc-Air cells: you go to a "Zinc Air" station and in the time it takes to fill up a tank of gas, your car gets a new Zinc Air cell and you're good to go for 1500 miles(?).
- gorkish 2y agoIf this is the model you want, there are easier materials. Iron/air isn't mass efficient, but it's an absolutely stupid simple material and energy cycle to implement. I personally believe iron/air batteries are an excellent candidate for industrial energy applications and large scale electric vehicles (trains, ships, heavy equipment, mining, shipping)
- throwaway81523 2y ago
- rbanffy 2y ago> So, that energy density is 100 times greater than whatever TDK's previous solid-state battery was, not necessarily 100 times other battery technologies. Yes. 100x better density than current LiPo, LiMH, or something like that would immediately enable electric airliners. Like tomorrow.