EVs and lithium batteries are getting a lot of attention lately, with big names like Google, Apple, and Hertz making news.
While lithium metal batteries (LMBs) could provide a range of up to 700 miles for EVs, their capabilities are limited by heating, short circuits, and their less-than-stellar ability to charge fast. India’s Tata Institute of Fundamental Research claims they have a solution to improve battery performance and EV driving limits.
Lithium metal batteries can store up to 10x as much power as their counterparts but can’t be easily recharged. To address this challenge, the Tata team developed a “graphite derivative powder” that serves as an improved membrane between the electrodes. This membrane “suppresses” the formation of branch-like dendrites inside specific power packs while running, causing malfunctions.
The team continues to address deterioration problems as the research continues; however, they consider it a “simple, scalable, cost-effective method” to assemble safer and more durable LMBs.
Stanford researchers are also investigating LMBs. “A car equipped with a lithium metal battery would have twice the range of a lithium-ion vehicle of equal size — 600 miles per charge versus 300 miles, for example,” Stanford chemistry doctoral student Philaphon Sayavong claimed.
Battery range reliability and recharging remain a cause of hesitancy for auto buyers. Tata’s work with LMBs could be an essential potential future storage system and deliver powerful battery tech to the market, expanding the planet-friendly impact EVs can make.
