Lithium-Sulphur Batteries are getting closer to reality
Most of today’s electric cars are powered by Lithium-Ion batteries,
these batteries will also be used to store the suns energy, on a cloudy or
rainy day. The quest of the battery scientist is to create a battery that will
cover longer distances and store more of the suns power, created by solar
panels and wind power.
This is where the Lithium-Sulphur battery will in the future
have a part to play. At the moment (Jan 2014) the Li-Su battery does not have a
good life span and cannot be used commercially, but an anode that has been
developed Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) could make it possible
for the life of the Li-Su battery to be extended enough to make it a viable
option to be used in a commercial environment, increasing the present battery
life by as much as four times.
The Li-Su battery would have a much bigger advantage over
the Li-On batteries, because the Li-On is limited to how much energy it can
store, the Li-Su battery can hold more than four times more energy mass, which
would significantly increase the length of the distance than an electric car
can cover at the moment, and also have much more storage capacity from solar
energy.
As I have said, the problem with the Li-Su battery model has
been the short life span of the battery, which is mainly due to the dissolution
of the cathode that contains the sulphur into the batteries electrolyte which
ends up forming unwanted molecules known as “polysulphides”. These polysulfide’s
form an unwanted deposit on the surface of the Lithium anode which is
non-conductive, causing the battery not to work.
The challenge of the scientists at the PNNL team focused on
the battery's other side by adding a protective shield to the anode. The new
protective shield for the anode has been developed from graphite. Graphite is
one of the rare earth products that is mined in huge quantities in China, and
in smaller amounts else ware on the Planet. This type of graphite carbon
molecule is also used in Li-On batteries and I believe it was first discovered
in Manchester University in the UK... http://www.pellonautocentre.com/blog/?p=4229
In the newly designed anode the very thin layer of carbon is
connected to the Lithium metal by using an electrical method thus forming a
unique electrochemical formation. The graphite shield prevents the build-up of
the un-wanted molecules of polysulphides, thus solving the longevity problem
that was caused by the former chemical action.
Larger models of the Lithum-Sulphur batteries would have to be tested
The outcome of this is that the new anode has increased the
lifespan of the battery up to four times and has increased the charging/discharging
from 100 to 400 times, now making this new style anode into a much more viable proposition
for commercial use, after further development. This development would include
the use of thicker electrodes that would be required for the use on electric
cars and solar storage and indeed tests would still have to be carried on
larger models of the new technology and so the good work goes on.
Eric Roberts
Hi I would like to introduce myself. I have worked in the Garage
and tyre and Battery business now for 40 years. I have worked for a couple for
national tyre companies in my younger days, before starting my first business.
I now own a garage and MOT testing centre, here in the UK called Pellon Tyre
and Auto-centre, and I am a keen blogger about anything to do with cars and
their related products that will help my business. We are members of Point-S
and Motor-Codes and are also a Unipart Car Care Centre and of course Tyre-safe.
