Batteries are almost a part of modern life, but today's battery technology just doesn't meet our needs - they often run out of charge at the wrong time. Scientists have been searching for better batteries ever since Thomas Edison searched for a way to power his friend Henry Ford's Model T car.
Now a new breakthrough in battery technology seems to be within reach, and it's about as good as we'd expect it to be -- powering a phone for days and allowing electric car owners to drive up to 500 miles ( About 804 kilometers) or more.
"Solid-state battery technology is going to start sailing," said Josh Duettner˙Garrett, CEO of Solid State Power in Colorado, whose company is working on solid-state batteries and last week formed a partnership with BMW. BMW already plans to supply some form of battery pack for every one of its products over the next decade.
Today's lithium-ion batteries are a huge improvement over earlier lead-acid, nickel-cadmium, and nickel-metal hydride battery technologies. But as the latest long-range electric vehicles start to hit the market, such as Tesla's Model 3 and Chevrolet's Bolt, they need batteries that weigh more than 300kg.Also read:lithium battery
The attendant problem is that this kind of battery needs several hours of charging time, and lithium-ion batteries are not cheap. According to battery industry data, the price of traction car batteries has fallen from around $700 per kilowatt-hour in 2010 to less than $200 per kilowatt-hour. But a 60-kilowatt-hour battery still costs more than $10,000 to power an EV with a 200-mile range.
According to experts, solid-state battery technology is expected to make huge leaps in three key areas, one of which is the ability to at least triple the power supply capacity of the same size battery, which is what experts call an increase in energy density. The energy density of the final battery can reach more than twice that of existing batteries. That would enable automakers to halve the size of the battery under the same mileage range requirements, or double the cruising range of the car and improve performance, such as an SUV that provides users with a cruising range of nearly 500 kilometers and the acceleration of a sports car.
Duettner˙Garrett said: "Solid-state battery technology also has the potential to enable ultra-fast charging. Charging your electric car is exactly as simple and time-saving as refueling a gasoline car." In other words, it only takes 5 to 10 minutes to fully charge. Electricity. As for the price, according to a recent study by Boston Consulting Group, lithium-ion batteries will be reduced to $70 per kilowatt-hour within seven years. Analyst XavierMosquet said that solid-state batteries will be 20% cheaper than lithium-ion batteries.
Solid-state batteries get their name from the fact that they use a ceramic material instead of the liquid electrolyte in typical batteries. This is an added advantage, because the liquid in lithium-ion batteries is as flammable as gasoline, which is why their use in aircraft is banned in special applications. Defects in lithium-ion batteries have led to multiple accidents.
BMW is by no means the only company planning to use solid-state battery technology. Toyota has also hinted that it will introduce the technology to its electric vehicle line at a new U.S. plant in 2021. Toyota this month formed an alliance with Japan's Panasonic, which has become one of the world's largest suppliers of lithium-ion batteries and is also expected to work on solid-state battery technology.
Another active company is the British ceramics manufacturer Dyson. In October 2015 it acquired Sakti3 technology, which was spun out of the University of Michigan, which specializes in solid-state battery technology. Earlier this year, Dyson announced plans to use the new batteries to launch its own electric car subsidiary. It also plans to use the technology to make its own wireless appliances more competitive.
The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance has confirmed it will invest up to $1 billion in mobility startups over the next five years, Reuters reported. The alliance hopes that new technologies will help it find its own way in the rapidly changing field of mobility and open up the situation.
The venture capital fund will invest $200 million in the first year, the three companies said in a statement Tuesday. Called Alliance Ventures, the fund will invest in new advances in electrification, artificial intelligence and more. Competitors such as GM, BMW, and Toyota also have their own similar venture capital funds.
In September last year, the three companies announced plans to launch 12 electric vehicles by 2022, with new models that will last longer and use lower-cost batteries. Alliance Ventures is on track to become the largest corporate venture capital fund in the auto industry by 2022, the three firms said. It is reported that IonicMaterials is the first company that the fund will invest in. The company mainly develops cobalt-free solid-state battery materials that can be used in electric vehicles.
This time, Renault and Nissan will invest 40% of the capital in Alliance Ventures, and Mitsubishi will inject 20% of the capital. The funds will have branches in Silicon Valley, Paris, Beijing, and Yokohama. It is reported that before the venture capital fund was established, the three companies had spent more than 8.5 billion euros on annual research and development investment.Related lithium battery recommendations:Lithium ion Battery Pack Manufacturer
The traditional automobile industry is developed in a privately owned model, and various bicycle and car sharing platforms that provide pay-as-you-go services like Uber are threatening the survival of the traditional industry. This threat is intensifying in a world of electric and autonomous vehicles.
Solid-state battery technology has long been explored by researchers, and even industry leaders such as Duettner˙Garrett admit they are not ready right now. Battery manufacturers have already demonstrated the technology in the lab, and now they must ensure that solid-state batteries can be produced in high volumes and that they can be used in the specific charging environment in which electric vehicles operate every day. That's why it may take about five years for this new technology to become widely available.
But if battery makers can overcome existing hurdles in solid-state battery technology, and the technology lives up to expectations, it could make wireless devices large and small more capable of everyday life.