Researchers are reusing silicon from solar panels to create high-power lithium-ion batteries.
According to Interesting Engineering, while solar panels have been an excellent way to move away from dirty energy sources and lower utility bills, when panels get to the end of their life span, they generate a lot of waste. Researchers believe that the metals in the panels will be in high demand and that silicon is the challenge.
A team at the Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology (QIBEBT) has repurposed the silicon from solar panels into lithium-ion batteries. Their method is a low-cost way to recycle one of the components of panels when they are at the end of their life spans.
The researchers created the high-power lithium-ion batteries by using micrometer-sized silicon to make the anodes in the batteries. According to Dragonfly Energy, anodes are a crucial component in batteries. In a rechargeable battery, electrons and ions move between the anode and the cathode during discharging and charging, per the U.S. Department of Energy.
Typically, silicon anodes are prone to expanding and reducing in the charge-discharge cycle, per Interesting Engineering, but by using micrometer-sized silicon and a unique electrolyte mixture, the researchers created their new battery with excellent performance
The researchers also found that these batteries can work in harsh conditions and produce a higher energy density than most lithium-ion batteries are known for.
Professor Guanglei Cui, who led the team of researchers at Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, said in a press release: "By using recycled materials and advanced chemical engineering, we have demonstrated that high-performance and environmentally sustainable lithium-ion batteries are not only possible, but also within reach."
Scientists are also developing other methods to create more efficient lithium-ion batteries.
For example, researchers from the Illinois Institute of Technology and the Argonne National Laboratory have created a lithium-air battery. It's lighter than a typical battery and can store about four times more energy than a similar-size conventional battery. If this new battery works as projected, it could increase the range an electric vehicle could travel by four times.
The QIBEBT team believes its findings, published in the journal Nature Sustainability, could be used not only for EVs but also for large-scale energy storage systems that help ensure renewable energy is reliably available around the clock.
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