Solid State Batteries: an Overview

Conventional Lithium Ion battery compared to Solid State Lithium battery The Verge

Battery technology has remained unchanged for quite a long period of time. Powering most rechargeable devices is a type of battery known as a lithium ion battery; its low cost, light weight, and ability to be recharged numerous times are some of the factors that helped to make it popular. However the Lithium ion battery does have a few shortcomings- namely its power density and recharging speed.

The new solid state lithium batteries could, in theory, double the power density and significantly reduce the charging speed of most electronic devices. These batteries use a solid polymer rather than permeable sheets saturated in electrolytic fluid. The use of a polymer electrolyte would allow lithium metal anodes to be used and would reduce replace the flammable liquid electrolytes, thus reducing the risk of a fire if the battery is damaged or overheats.

Battery safety has long been an issue in the world of modern devices. With even major companies suffering from flawed lithium ion batteries, Samsung's Note 7 smartphone for example, that caused fires after being damaged or even in some normal use cases. The fire resulting in a battery failure is caused by the heating, vaporization, and combustion of the liquid electrolyte.

The breakthrough in battery technology was engineered by scientists at Deakin University, in Australia, who claim that the use of lithium metal is the key to solving the issue of power density. According to NewAtlas, the current lithium ion power density is currently capped at around 250 Wh/Kg while this new battery technology could bring the maximum capacity up to nearly 500 Wh/kg.

So far, these batteries are still undergoing testing and development; however, that is expected to change soon. According to the researchers responsible for this breakthrough, most of the testing has been done on coin cell sized batteries. NewAtlas states that the team plans to transition to "pouch cell" batteries then move towards identifying a partner company to develop solid state lithium batteries for the commercial market.

Read the full article in the journal Joule.

Source: NewAtlas