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Sweet, thanks! So what would that (e.g. 10x the energy density) mean for consumers in practice. Can we expect 4x the range on a car, or the lifetime on a phone?
by IkmoIkmo 12y ago
Sweet, thanks! So what would that (e.g. 10x the energy density) mean for consumers in practice. Can we expect 4x the range on a car, or the lifetime on a phone? Is this something we'll see around 2020, later, earlier?
- algirau 12y agoUnfortunately, there are several items that interfere with maximizing the 10X. Then anode is only ~16% of the entire battery, so increasing the anode energy density by 10X does not translate directly to 10X battery life. You must also consider the cathode, and separator which can hinder this. Remember the 10X is a "theoretical maximum". It is important to constantly increase the theoretical maximum energy density. Translating the theoretical to an actual energy density is about downstream processing - see how Tesla increases battery efficiency each year by make the processing more efficient. Amprius was promising 10X increase, but once they reach ton-scale manufacturing they were only able to get a 30-50% increase. I am sure they will be able to gradually increase close to the 10X maximum by making processing more efficient. tl;dr battery material processing into the actual battery is where most of the batteries lose there performance. Step (1) Increase theoretical energy density by finding new material; Step (2) focus on battery processing to approach theoretical maximum.
- algirau 12y agoI believe we will see it much earlier than 2020. The DOE has mandated that they want to see lithium-ion batteries 5X in capacity and 5X cheaper by 2020. I think it can be done. If would happen much faster if we manufactured here and did not have to worry about international logistical and quality assurance associate with Chinese manufacturing.