New battery technology: 70 percent in two minutes

May 31, 2020

Scientists from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore have developed a battery that is supposed to go from zero to 70 percent capacity in just two minutes. In addition, the researchers want to have increased shelf life by more than ten times – this should now be more than 20 years. And the scientists have also increased the number of charging cycles from the usual 500 for lithium-ion batteries to 10,000.

The researchers want to have achieved this huge step forward with a new type of anode in the lithium-ion battery. Instead of graphite, a gel made of titanium dioxide is used, a cheap and easily available substance. The trick, however, is that the titanium dioxide is used in the form of so-called nanotubes – the ions form tiny tubes, the diameter of which is three orders of magnitude below human hair.

However, the research team has not yet built a larger prototype of the battery. However, that is the next goal, according to the NTU report. By the way, the patented technology has already been licensed to a manufacturer – if everything goes well, the first fast-charging batteries should be on the market in two years.

And then: everything good?

One problem, however, always remains: How do I get the energy into the batteries with so much "pressure"? Suppose I want to pump 2100 mAh into a 3000 mAh hour battery within two minutes. Then I need a charging current of 63 amperes on my smartphone.

However, batteries do not charge with an efficiency of 100 percent – with current batteries, about a third of the energy is lost in heat. So I would need a charging current of around 82 amperes to charge the battery so quickly. At 5 volts, this would result in a tolerable power loss of 95 watts.

While that is not all that is possible, it should certainly pose one or two challenges for manufacturers. When charging more powerful batteries, such as those used in cars, the magnitude of the current strengths is of course completely different.

Source: NTU Singapore (via)

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