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Power Transportation Science

Single Crystal Lithium-Ion Batteries Last 8x Longer, Researchers Show (techxplore.com) 99

Researchers used Canada's national synchrotron light source facility "to analyze a new type of lithium-ion battery material — called a single-crystal electrode — that's been charging and discharging non-stop in a Halifax lab for more than six years," reports Tech Xplore.

The results? The battery material "lasted more than 20,000 cycles before it hit the 80% capacity cutoff," which they say is equivalent to driving 8 million kms (nearly 5 million miles). That's more than eight times the life of a regular lithium-ion battery that lasted 2,400 cycles before reaching the 80% cutoff — and "When the researchers looked at the single crystal electrode battery, they saw next to no evidence of this mechanical stress." (One says the material "looked very much like a brand-new cell." Toby Bond [a senior scientist at the CLS, who conducted the research for his Ph.D.] attributes the near absence of degradation in the new style battery to the difference in the shape and behavior of the particles that make up the battery electrodes... The single crystal is, as its name implies, one big crystal: it's more like an ice cube. "If you have a snowball in one hand, and an ice cube in the other, it's a lot easier to crush the snowball," says Bond. "The ice cube is much more resistant to mechanical stress and strain." While researchers have for some time known that this new battery type resists the micro cracking that lithium-ion batteries are so susceptible to, this is the first time anyone has studied a cell that's been cycled for so long...

Bond says what's most exciting about the research is that it suggests we may be near the point where the battery is no longer the limiting component in an EV — as it may outlast the other parts of the car. The new batteries are already being produced commercially, says Bond, and their use should ramp up significantly within the next couple of years. "I think work like this just helps underscore how reliable they are, and it should help companies that are manufacturing and using these batteries to plan for the long term."

Thanks to long-time Slashdot reader schwit1 for sharing the news.
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Single Crystal Lithium-Ion Batteries Last 8x Longer, Researchers Show

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  • Parts of a battery: anode, cathode, electrolyte.
    What electrode?

    • Pretty weak FP. So you didn't like the labeling?

      Par for FP these days? I am interested in the topic, but mostly for smartphone applications. Thinking about composing an AskSlashdot about smartphone selection criteria, and batteries are certainly on the list. If I cycle the phone once a day, then 20,000 cycles should be long enough. But I sure don't believe that 2,400 number for "regular" batteries. My current phone sure feels way less than 80% after a little over a year. Call it 400 cycles?

      • I'm guessing the theoretical maximum of 2,400 cycles is based on optimal lab conditions; the ambient heat from your phone during charging probably shortens that life span dramatically. What I'd really want to know though, is how safe these are compared to traditional lithium-ion battery types, particularly when punctured or lit on fire.

        • by shanen ( 462549 )

          Good question and applies in different ways to cars or smartphones. Perhaps less of a problem if it's used for major load leveling?

    • by ceoyoyo ( 59147 )

      Anodes and cathodes are electrodes.

    • The cathode. They replaced the polycrystal lithium NMC material with a monocrystal. This addresses a common problem with crack formation in the cathode.

    • by narcc ( 412956 )

      ... You probably shouldn't comment on this particular topic.

  • by marcle ( 1575627 )

    Manufacturers *don't want* a car that lasts a really long time. Where's the profit in that?

    • by Fons_de_spons ( 1311177 ) on Sunday December 15, 2024 @11:45AM (#65014925)
      China called, they ask what is so important about profit?
    • This was my thought as well, it may not be an issue for the next decade or so due to the endless demand for new batteries intended for new construction rather than replacement, but if Li-Ion batteries are still around in a decade or so, there will be a lot of incentive to form a Phoebus Cartel for batteries.

    • by markdavis ( 642305 ) on Sunday December 15, 2024 @01:19PM (#65015089)

      >"Manufacturers *don't want* a car that lasts a really long time. Where's the profit in that?"

      * Car manufacturers sell cars, not batteries.
      * Cars with longer-lasting batteries will sell better and demand higher prices.
      * ICE cars already last a very long time, if taken care of. And that was improving for many decades.
      * ICE cars don't have some built-in/designed-in, expected, very expensive timebomb waiting to go off like EV's do.
      * EV cars that eliminate the timebomb will better compete with ICE cars.
      * Electric manufacturers can then be free to work on other features that will entice current and future buyers.

      Generally, with an elastic, competitive market, *nobody* loses with improvements in technology... everyone wins.

      • Ice vehicles had many years of bad gas tank designs. It took decades to correct ice vehicles to make it so they hardly catch on fire at random any more.

        That said I know several personal antetodes where an ice engines randomly caught fire and burned to the ground. The best one was on Halloween 2022 when my mother in law pulled in to my driveway on the flames of hell. Her voltage regulator randomly fried and caught a bunch of dry leaves on fire. By the time the fire dept got there the whole car was engulfed.

        • That said I know several personal antetodes where an ice engines randomly caught fire and burned to the ground.

          Yeah, I have one myself, one of my earliest memories is of my father's Toronado burning in our driveway. It lit itself on fire while not being driven.

          But anecdotes aren't that valuable, data is what we like, and gas cars are more likely to combust [kbb.com].

          The sad part is, it's pretty easy to make this not happen. You build an inline engine with a hot side and a cool side, keep fuel lines away from hot components, use heat/fuel spray shields where necessary, and use fuel injectors with metal bodies. This would make

          • by vivian ( 156520 )

            I had a 1976 celica burst into flames in 1990 when I pulled over to the side of a country road for my mate who needed a pit stop. Foot high Long dry grass touched the hot manifold and caught fire, which lit grease and oil from my old leaky engine.
            Luckily sand and a stinky contribution from my mate with the full bladder got the situation under control.

        • The best one was on Halloween 2022 when my mother in law pulled in to my driveway on the flames of hell. Her voltage regulator randomly fried and caught a bunch of dry leaves on fire.

          She should have used her broom. Especially on that day!

      • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

        Batteries aren't a "time bomb". If not defective and properly designed, they will outlast the rest of the car. Some Chinese manufacturers even give a lifetime warranty now.

        Fossil cars though... Lots of consumables, things like wet belts that destroy the engine if not properly maintained or manufactured. Brake pads wear out fast, various fluids need constant replacement. We have just got used to them, they aren't better.

      • >"Manufacturers *don't want* a car that lasts a really long time. Where's the profit in that?"

        * Car manufacturers sell cars, not batteries. * Cars with longer-lasting batteries will sell better and demand higher prices. * ICE cars already last a very long time, if taken care of. And that was improving for many decades. * ICE cars don't have some built-in/designed-in, expected, very expensive timebomb waiting to go off like EV's do. * EV cars that eliminate the timebomb will better compete with ICE cars. * Electric manufacturers can then be free to work on other features that will entice current and future buyers.

        Generally, with an elastic, competitive market, *nobody* loses with improvements in technology... everyone wins.

        Do you even own a modern car, or do you enjoy assuming that hard about the pointless complexity and expendable reliability of modern shitwagons while trading in a barely used lease every two years? No ticking timebomb? There are over 150,000 ICE car fires that happen every year just in the United States. Thousands every day. What exactly are we calling a “timebomb” here?

        Today, people can still own their mode of transportation. I only see pointless complexity leading one direction in the fut

      • Saying 'batteries are like a time bomb' is like saying 'your IC engine is a time bomb' or 'your transmission is a time bomb.'
      • "ICE cars don't have some built-in/designed-in, expected, very expensive timebomb waiting to go off like EV's do."

        Of course they do. It's called the engine and transmission.

        EV batteries are said to last 300,000 - 500,000 miles. At 300,000 miles, you're probably going to replace your ICE engine that is measuring quarts per mile of oil consumption, spewing so much pollution that the EPA has put a price on your head, and so forth.

        My own Ford Eco-Boost twin turbo is supposedly $9K without the turbos, and fig

    • It can fly. Just kick it with enough strength, or better connect together positive and negative electrodes after that it has been fully charged.
    • Manufacturers *don't want* a car that lasts a really long time. Where's the profit in that?

      The software subscription they'll require to you to maintain, lest your car turn into a brick.

    • Manufacturers *don't want* a car that lasts a really long time. Where's the profit in that?

      It’s quite hilarious to remember the Achilles heel of capitalistic competition; All it takes is ONE competitor with that exact mindset, to crush the rest with ultimate reliability. Especially when those building expendable dogshit have the arrogance to charge THAT price.

      Manufacturers are now failing to push 2025 models to still-overpopulated car lots and dealers that can’t sell last years dogshit. We’ll soon see what they *don't want* worse.

    • That's truth. That's the reas9n f9r 9lanned obsolescence.
  • As far as I can tell in the paper they charged them at room temperatures at a rate of C/3 at 20 C for the NMC532 cells and elsewhere the paper is mentions for another type, the NMC622 cells, at 40 C. I would say further study is needed if this would be used for vehicles to account for temperature differences though this is encouraging news.
    • by Luckyo ( 1726890 )

      It is not, because if what they claim is true, it's that you can massively increase the manufacturing cost of one of the battery parts (cathode), to mitigate against a very rare type of failure.

      Reminder: primary problems in NMC batteries are lithium inventory loss and dendrite growth. Their monocrystal cathode changes nothing for those two problems.

  • How about working ion the biggest problem? Battery capacity?

    • It’s actively being worked on and steadily improving. https://www.energy.gov/eere/ve... [energy.gov]

      • by Luckyo ( 1726890 )

        Since he keeps spamming this specific lie, I will continue to spam the obvious debunk of this lie.

        The false claim is that this link's charts talk about "battery capacity". It does not. It talks about battery PACK capacity. Specifically, everything from packing batteries more densely into the pack, to minituarizing logic boards and cooling systems.

        • by narcc ( 412956 )

          You're full of shit.

          Fuck off, troll.

          • by Luckyo ( 1726890 )

            Tesla battery day from four years ago still haunts you, doesn't it? When they announced a much larger battery pack, made of much larger individual batteries. Absolute cutting edge, showcasing a result of ten years of development of lithium batteries.

            Who's energy density was approximately.... 1% higher than their almost decade old smaller batteries. And once people got to disassemble those batteries, it was discovered that this difference mostly if not fully came from... needing less contact surface per volu

    • >"How about working ion the biggest problem? Battery capacity?"

      * There are many problems.
      * There is value in working on all problems.
      * Battery capacity is actually not the largest problem for many people- it is not having a place to charge it at home.
      * One could argue that battery capacity *is* what they have been working on the most.

    • by Luckyo ( 1726890 )

      All the time. We are neat theoretical limits of chemistries we widely deploy, so there's nothing to be gained there. Which is why we're constantly trying to look into chemistries that have theoretical maximums that are much better than current tech.

      Problem is, we have not a faintest clue what to use for lithium air. It's the holy grail of battery tech the same way fusion is for energy generation. And just like fusion is perpetually 50 years away, lithium air remains perpetually 20 years away.

    • by shmlco ( 594907 ) on Sunday December 15, 2024 @04:51PM (#65015451) Homepage

      One of the advances underway is using Niobium (Nb) to reduce charging time down to 7-10 minutes. And that's for a 0-100% charge, not 10-80%.

      If charging times are dramatically reduced, then there's less need for 300-400-500 ranges, since if you get low you just make a quick stop to "top off".

      And if you don't need super-sized batteries, that makes cars lighter, less expensive, and more efficient.

      • This is pretty exciting if true. I did some googling but it was hard to come up with anything that wasn't clearly biased towards advertising/hype. Would love to find something that spells out the realistic tradeoffs of the technology.

    • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      We have 500kWh batteries in trucks, it's not really the capacity or physical size that is the issue at this point. It's cost, and that is falling rapidly.

  • Batteries in EVs are exposed to temperature extremes even when idle, due to hot summer and cold winter weather. IIRC, EVs (ex. Teslas) actually have temperature controls for the batteries to minimize the wear involved.

    Have these new batteries been studied operating in extreme temperatures? Do they last longer in such less-than-ideal conditions as well? I'm mostly interested in the implications for winter driving range.
  • The article notes that this new battery material is goood for 8m miles, which it notes is 8x a standard Li ion battery. That’s 625k miles! That’s already the equivalent of 40 years of driving the US daily average of 40 miles a day. More than good enough to outlast the rest of a typical car.

    • The article notes that this new battery material is goood for 8m miles, which it notes is 8x a standard Li ion battery. That’s 625k miles! That’s already the equivalent of 40 years of driving the US daily average of 40 miles a day. More than good enough to outlast the rest of a typical car.

      Statistically speaking, you will have been forced to total and replace that incredibly expensive asset multiple times in 40 years. Due to simple human error which isn’t leaving the roadways anytime soon.

      And that’s before we get to the autonomous network hacking by terrorist organizations. Or planned obsolescence because “new safety standards” (aka Greed) made your model car not just obsolete, but illegal.

      Sadly, reliability will become an afterthought to long-term predictable Shit H

  • So what would be the advantage?

    • LTO batteries have great charge times and long cycle life, but poor energy density (worse than NiMh) and high cost. Supercapacitors are cheaper and even faster to charge, but have even lower energy density. EVs generally use NMC (3x the energy density of LTO) or LFP (150% density with much lower cost, albeit slower charging than NMC).

      • My Ioniq 5 uses Liquid-cooled lithium-ion polymer (LiPB).

        More range than my bladder has, and charges faster at a decent charger than I eat lunch.

        • My Ioniq 5 uses Liquid-cooled lithium-ion polymer (LiPB).

          More range than my bladder has, and charges faster at a decent charger than I eat lunch.

          Range and stops are 2 different things. I stop for the comfort at Interstate Highway rest areas, but there are neither gas pumps nor chargers there. Having to scare up a charger when you need it is still a constraint to EV travel. EV travel will be on a par with ICE travel when you do NOT have to plan the trip. Just point the hood ornament at the destination, drive until it says you have 50 miles left, then get gas at the 1st sign that says Exxon, or Shell, or Valero or 76 or whatever. Ever see an

  • by nbritton ( 823086 ) on Monday December 16, 2024 @04:58AM (#65016261)

    Seriously not even a single joke about di-lithium crystals, what is this world coming to?

    • Seriously not even a single joke about di-lithium crystals, what is this world coming to?

      Given the state of the environment, I would go with a warp core overload headed toward a warp core breach. The icing on the cellular peptide cake is that there are no escape pods.

  • No mention of comparative size, weight, power density, environmental durability with respect to temperature, and so forth. So, is it a good EV candidate or not? We are looking for lighter, denser, cheaper, fire resistance, etc.

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