3 ms·

From the available information I estimate they are about 2x the theoretical maximum energy density of lithium ion chemistry or about 4x better than current stat

From 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 ago
Current 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 ago
  Wait until you get a load of vanadium-boride/air batteries. 27,000Wh/kg. Stuff is like electrochemical TNT
- terribleperson 2y ago
  675 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 ago
  Can 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 ago
    If 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
    There have been some articles about something like that, yet another revolutionary battery technology to never make it out of the lab. The idea was that the refill station would drain depleted sludge (electrolyte or whatever) out of the battery, add new sludge to replace it, and then somehow reprocess the depleted sludge that it had collected. I heard about that at least 20 years ago. Since then, nothing.

throwaway81523 2y ago

Current 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 ago
Wait until you get a load of vanadium-boride/air batteries. 27,000Wh/kg. Stuff is like electrochemical TNT
terribleperson 2y ago
675 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 ago
Can 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 ago
  If 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
  There have been some articles about something like that, yet another revolutionary battery technology to never make it out of the lab. The idea was that the refill station would drain depleted sludge (electrolyte or whatever) out of the battery, add new sludge to replace it, and then somehow reprocess the depleted sludge that it had collected. I heard about that at least 20 years ago. Since then, nothing.