A group of researchers from universities in Japan could be on the brink of unlocking highly promising battery tech, according to details published by TechXplore and ACS Publications.
The team, including scientists from the Toyohashi University of Technology and Osaka Metropolitan University, is working on a sulfide-based solid electrolyte, deemed by the experts as a promising type of battery part. It is fire retardant and has strong output, per the TechXplore summary.
Solid-state electrolyte research should be familiar to most people following the battery sector. The tech is being developed in labs around the world, including at Harvard. Top Speed listed the material type's pros as being safer and lighter, with a fast charge time. But cost-effective manufacturing has been a setback, the publication added.
A U.S. Energy Department fact sheet highlights battery function. When cells cycle, ions travel between two electrodes through the electrolyte, which is a flammable liquid in most common packs that power our tech and electric vehicles.
In Japan, the team's focus has been on synthesizing the sulfide-solid electrolyte without exposing it to the atmosphere. Surviving air exposure has been a significant hurdle documented in the lab summaries.
" … Hence, they must be synthesized without exposure to air, which necessitates the development of a low-cost, liquid-phase synthesis method suitable for mass production," the team wrote, per TechXplore.
The result is Li10GeP2S12, for at-home scientists keeping notes in their lab books. For EV motorists hoping for a next-gen battery to be developed, that's the chemistry translation for the sulfide/solid electrolyte the Japan team came up with, per the research summary.
The breakthrough involves "optimizing" the heat treatment during synthesis. The right mix of long-named materials — tetrahydrofuran among them — helped to form the ideal solution. Fascinatingly, the research builds on prior findings that produced a method cutting synthesis time from three days to only seven and a half hours, according to the TechXplore report.
Complicated battery science often involves unique substances, even including cow hair for lithium-sulfur packs. Often, the goal is to provide a cheaper, safer, and better-performing pack that can extend EV adoption beyond the nearly 14 million vehicles reported by the International Energy Agency to have been sold globally last year alone.
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All the research is having a big impact, as a U.S. government report noted that each EV that replaces a gas burner reduces thousands of pounds of air pollution annually. That's a lot of lung-troubling fumes avoided.
What's more, switching to an EV is already a safe and affordable option. EV fires are less likely than combustion-engine blazes, according to multiple reports. Tax breaks and fuel savings stack up great value over the course of the EV's lifespan.
Big brands are stepping up, as well. Ford is paying to have charge tech installed in the buyer's home, nixing another expense associated with the purchase.
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