Improved Batteries for Electric Cars Could Recharge in Seconds

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Researchers may have found a way to drastically increase the performance of the lithium ion batteries that power everything from electric cars to laptops. By reconfiguring the battery to allow lithium ions to rush in and out about 100 times faster than before, researchers say they've created a prototype that provides fast bursts of power and also, crucially, recharges in seconds. A prototype of a battery made with the new technique could be charged in less than 20 seconds compared to the six minutes it took to charge cells made in the standard way [Australian Broadcasting Corporation]. Lithium ion batteries are capable of storing a great deal of energy, and have therefore been selected for use in electric cars like the Tesla Roadster (which uses 6,831 individual cells) and the Chevy Volt. But getting the lithium ions in and out is a drawn-out affair. This phenomenon explains why some electric vehicles (the rip-roaring $109,000 Tesla Roadster with its massive battery pack excluded) can reach high speeds, but they suffer from poor acceleration compared with the propulsive force unleashed by the rapid succession of mini explosions in an internal combustion engine. The slow exchange of ions also means lithium ion batteries recharge slowly—just think of how long you have to charge your tiny cell phone [Scientific American].

Researcher Gerbrand Ceder and his team studied the movement of ions through the traditional lithium iron phosphate battery material, and found that lithium ions travel through tunnels accessed from the surface of the material. If a lithium ion at the surface is directly in front of a tunnel entrance, it can quickly deliver a charge. But if the ion is not at the entrance, it cannot easily move there, making it less efficient at delivering a charge [Reuters].

For the breakthrough, described in a new paper in Nature, researchers created a prototype nicknamed the "beltway battery", after the orbital motorway in Washington DC, because it uses a bypass system to let lithium ions that carry charge to enter and leave the battery more quickly [Times Online]. Researchers coated the battery material with a layer of glass-like lithium phosphate, and found that this allowed the ions to speed along their way. Because the reconfigured battery uses standard materials and would require only a slight change to the production process, researchers say the new technology could reach the market within three years.

There is one large obstacle to overcome: The batteries might require specialized and expensive charging stations, researchers say, because household electrical outlets aren't capable of delivering energy quickly enough. However, yesterday's discussion of turning the West Coast's Interstate 5 into a "green freeway" studded with alternative fueling stations offers a possible solution, as the rest stops could host the specialized chargers.

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/...rge-in-seconds/

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Cool. They could have big capacitors at the charging stations.

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Cool. They could have big capacitors at the charging stations.

And imagine those being charged via the sun.

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Cool. They could have big capacitors at the charging stations.

And imagine those being charged via the sun.

Except in California where the NIMBY elitist crowd would see the solar panels as unsightly. So they'll overpay for coal generated electricity from out of state.

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I didn't catch the name of this guy from MIT, but was on PBS radio last Friday. Unlike Thomas Edison that fooled with over 6,000 materials to find the right one for the incandescent filament trying on material at a time or a ten year project that really didn't excel on playing with different materials in trying to come up with a better battery, MIT developed a rather sophisticated program using modeling of various materials to see if they can come up with a better battery.

This is several magnitudes greater than doing this by hand. Sure some adjustments will have to be made to the program, but final proof will be in the pudding. Got to wondering about this guy, he wouldn't reveal the exact material he was using for this high rate of charge and discharge, but claim to have a US patent on it. What a patent does is too fully explain in great deal, the process of a methodology or an invention to the public. That is the only way you can specify precise claims on your invention. So if he does have a patent, the precise material already has been disclosed to the public, and in the case of a US patent, to the entire world.

We have been using simulation in the electronics industry for the last twenty years, but still cannot replace the skills of an experienced engineer, and the proof of the pudding is still constructing a prototype, many as a matter of fact with extensive testing. While they are teaching simulation in universities now, still not teaching how to design.

Battery development has been going on for over 200 years, and we still are using the basic cell discovered by Count Alessandro Volta in 1799 in our vehicles. This guy hinted on using lithium with a certain recipe he cared not to disclose but adding percentages of different elements. Has it licensed out to one American and one Japanese firm he further did not want to disclose. The energy density of his battery is not an improvement, only the charge and discharge rates have been improved. But credit is due for the amount or work his team did to even come up with such a program. He claims that energy density is his next target.

I am still a bit skeptical, as how this battery is produced in huge quantities will affect it's acceptance. And putting a lot of energy in a very small package, especially in chemical form can have severe consequences, especially if you are on the liability end of that product. Stability and reliability are on opposite sides of the fence in terms of energy density.

Battery development has always been a very slow process and in terms of energy with rechargeable type batteries, batteries are a media rather than an energy source. That energy source is still the key parameter.

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This phenomenon explains why some electric vehicles (the rip-roaring $109,000 Tesla Roadster with its massive battery pack excluded) can reach high speeds, but they suffer from poor acceleration compared with the propulsive force unleashed by the rapid succession of mini explosions in an internal combustion engine. The slow exchange of ions also means lithium ion batteries recharge slowly—just think of how long you have to charge your tiny cell phone [Scientific American].[/color]

Odd. This comment goes against all that I understood with to be the case with an electric motor. Acceleration from an electric motor is almost instantaneous. It's either "on" or "off". 0-60 would be much faster with a motor than the standard engine, I always thought.

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This phenomenon explains why some electric vehicles (the rip-roaring $109,000 Tesla Roadster with its massive battery pack excluded) can reach high speeds, but they suffer from poor acceleration compared with the propulsive force unleashed by the rapid succession of mini explosions in an internal combustion engine. The slow exchange of ions also means lithium ion batteries recharge slowly—just think of how long you have to charge your tiny cell phone [Scientific American].[/color]

Odd. This comment goes against all that I understood with to be the case with an electric motor. Acceleration from an electric motor is almost instantaneous. It's either "on" or "off". 0-60 would be much faster with a motor than the standard engine, I always thought.

Adding even conventional batteries in parallel sure helps, but the sheer weight of the batteries is their downfall. But yes, you can get very rapid acceleration, for about 15 seconds. Then your batteries are dead.