A team of scientists from Monash University in Melbourne (Australia) developed a lithium-sulfur (Li-S) battery, which has several significant advantages. If the invention can be used in practice, this battery can cause a huge revolution, both in the world of new everyday technologies and – perhaps above all – in the automotive industry.
A breakthrough in Li-S batteries? Large capacity, cheap production and good service life
Lithium-sulfur batteries are, of course, nothing new. The first cells of this type were created in the 1960s, but subsequent attempts at experiments related to them did not bring any breakthrough. The main problem of designers for the following decades was the low durability of this type of cells, which made them unsuitable for practical applications.
Now that may finally change. Australian scientists have developed a new type of cell of this type, which is intended to eliminate all the problems of previously used batteries. Researchers used a new anode made of lithium foil covered with a nanoporous polymer layer in Li-S cells. Moreover, the amount of lithium used was also reduced and the use of nickel and cobalt, which are very expensive and hazardous to the environment, was eliminated.
The new design is intended to have a positive impact primarily (but not only) on the life of such cells. lithium-sulfur battery showed a much smaller effect of decrease in real capacity during the first approximately 250 cycles than before. The battery developed in Melbourne also has a higher energy density (it has up to 5.7 times the density of lithium) than currently used solutions.
As a result, the new Li-S batteries – apart from the already mentioned better durability – will have even several times greater capacity. And if that wasn’t enough, they are to be half the cost of production of currently used lithium-ion cells. Thus, researchers managed to eliminate or at least minimize the two biggest drawbacks of the Li-Ion batteries that dominate today – their small capacity and very high price.
Of course, so far only prototypes have been created and we will have to wait for the first commercial use of the new solution. But today it is already clear that the new type of Li-S battery can become an absolute revolution in many industries. Primarily in the world of electric motoring and consumer electronics, but also wherever equipment manufacturers are limited by low capacities or high cell costs.
Source: Gazeta
Mabel is a talented author and journalist with a passion for all things technology. As an experienced writer for the 247 News Agency, she has established a reputation for her in-depth reporting and expert analysis on the latest developments in the tech industry.
