lithium-ion battery
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- November 09, 2011
Lithium-ion batteries are considered the solution to making electric cars possible. But, which kind? A recent article in ConsumerReports.org talks about what’s next in the lithium battery landscape.
Seth Fletcher, editor of Popular Science magazine and author, describes the key technologies of today and what lies ahead. Here are excerpts of his take on develops, as reported by Eric Evarts.
- The first-generation lithium batteries are made from lithium-cobalt oxide. These are the batteries widely used in consumer electronics today. These batteries have good power, but they are less stable than other kinds. While lithium-cobalt oxide batteries are readily available, commercial versions are not set up for cars. They are mainly made by Sony.
- The second-generation lithium batteries, developed for the Chevrolet Volt, are made of lithium-manganese oxide. But lithium-manganese stores less energy, which limits the range of electric cars.
- The third-generation lithium-based batteries use lithium-iron
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- October 20, 2011
Lithium-ion batteries are used in an array of consumer electronics, from laptops, smart phones, and even electric cars. While the current lithium-ion batteries are good, they will get better. The reason can be credited to researchers who have found a way to have the batteries store more energy.
According to a recent article in Science Daily, the anode is a critical component in these batteries. Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Berkeley Lab have designed a new type of anode that can absorb eight times the lithium of current designs. Even more promising, it has maintained its greatly increased energy capacity after over a year of testing and countless charge-discharge cycles. And additional good news with it is that the new anodes are made from low-cost materials, compatible with current standard lithium-battery manufacturing technologies.
While the better batteries aren’t yet ready for your new electronics just yet, the emphasis on continual improvement to maintain high customer
