The
ultrafast charging, improved durability and stability of the Li-ion batteries
is not just the requirement of the smart phone industry but its need is also
highlighted by the situation of electric vehicles. Researchers at Rice
University
have recently found that Lithium batteries operated on
asphalt-nanoribbon anodes experience a ten - or twenty-fold rise in rate of
charging. Another essential part of the development is that asphalt-derived
carbon thwarted dendrite formation. Li-dendrites are mossy deposits which
branch into the battery's electrolyte, and when allowed to grow long enough
they short-circuit cathode and anode (the positive and negative terminals)
leading to battery failure, burning or even explosion (remember the Samsung's
Galaxy Note 7 phones case!). Even after 500 cycles of charging and discharging
they displayed remarkable stability. That means that you can bring these
batteries from zero charge to full charge in five minutes against the typical
two hours or more needed by other batteries.
Asphalt,
generally known as blacktop pavement, is, in the technical sense, a viscous,
semi-liquid hydrocarbon, that is one of the components of the paving material.
“A
battery is really a bomb that releases its energy in a controlled way,” said
Qichao Hu, a former researcher at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and
founder of SolidEnergy Systems, a battery startup. A lot of players in the
industry of battery are now endeavouring to achieve further compactness and
durability, and cater to consumer demand. But some of the events in the past
like explosions of Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 phone and in 2013, when some Li-ion
batteries of the Boeing 787 system caught fire, forcing all members of the
fleet to ground raised questions about the fundamental safety issues related
with all batteries. It's known that chances of a battery explosion decreases as
we get to higher energy density and faster charge. Also, lithium possesses the
advantage of the lightest metal which needs least space for the same amount of
energy. Since experts are divided on whether the potential of li-ion technology
is beginning to saturate research towards safer batteries and alternate
technologies is underway, with lithium metal batteries among others being
explored.
“A
battery is really a bomb that releases its energy in a controlled way,” said
Qichao Hu, a former researcher at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and
founder of SolidEnergy Systems, a battery startup. A lot of players in the
industry of battery are now endeavoring to achieve further compactness and
durability, and cater to consumer demand. But some of the events in the past
like explosions of Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 phone and in 2013, when some Li-ion
batteries of the Boeing 787 system caught fire, forcing all members of the
fleet to ground raised questions about the fundamental safety issues related
with all batteries. It's known that chances of a battery explosion decreases as
we get to higher energy density and faster charge. Also, lithium possesses the
advantage of the lightest metal which needs least space for the same amount of
energy. Since experts are divided on whether the potential of li-ion technology
is beginning to saturate research towards safer batteries and alternate
technologies is underway, with lithium metal batteries among others being
explored.
With
the rising popularity and falling prices of the electric vehicles, a fast
charging system is a must for further progress. Except Tesla no other company
had worked towards setting up an adequate and fast charging infrastructure
early enough. It takes EV's with Li-ion batteries 20-30 minutes to recharge
even with the fast charging system, and achieve a range of 300-400 kilometers.
Fuel-reliant cars however can fuel up within few minutes.
There have been several efforts towards
fast charging from different groups before Rice University. The Israeli
startup, StoreDot presented it's FlashBattery technology for smartphones
in 2015 and promised charging up to 100% in five minutes. It's expected to be
ready in 2018. StoreDot also revealed an electric car battery that would take
just five minutes to charge against Tesla's supercharging technology which
takes 75 minutes with a range of 300 miles. Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 4 system
was released in Nov, 2016 promising 5 of 5; at least 5 hours of battery life
from 5 minutes of charging. It also offered a 0 to 50 percent charge in about
15 minutes or less. Others include a solid state battery using sulfide
superionic conductors developed by Toyota scientists with improved stability
and safety and a charge or discharge cycle of 7 minutes – an ideal candidate
for cars and a scalable battery by MIT Scientists can charge to the maximum in
just 6-minutes with improved durability. But Rice University's battery
components low price is definitely an advantage. Hence it would be interesting
to see which of these techs get commercially available first. 
