This article is part of our exclusive IEEE Journal Watch series in partnership with IEEE Xplore. Researchers have created a new lithium-ion battery design that allows for better flow of electrons through its anode—dramatically improving the battery’s capacity and halving the amount of time it takes to charge. The advancement is described in a study […]
The increasing energy density of lithium-ion batteries over the years has led to electric vehicles with longer driving range. But that driving range plummets in tandem with the temperatures in winter. This drop in battery performance is one reason customers often cite for not wanting to purchase an EV. By redesigning the battery electrolyte, researchers […]
Since lithium-ion batteries’ commercial debut three decades ago, this portable and high-density (and Nobel Prize–winning) energy storage technology has revolutionized the fields of consumer electronics, electric vehicles, and large-scale energy storage. And yet even for the technology’s vast advancements—a staggering thirtyfold drop in price between 1991 and 2018, for instance—the biggest improvements have taken place […]
Sodium, magnesium, and potassium have all been vying for lithium’s place in rechargeable batteries of the future. Now researchers in Austria have added an unusual contender to the mix: oxygen. The team has made a new oxygen-ion battery that can store about a third of the energy by weight compared to lithium ion but could […]
A new all-solid-state lithium battery can not only store nearly twice as much energy as a standard lithium-ion battery, but it’s also not prone to catching fire like its present-day, commercial counterparts. The secret behind this novel prototype’s success? Getting rid of one of a battery’s usual electrodes, a new study finds. Conventional batteries supply […]
While electric vehicles are increasingly popular today, one reason consumers cite for avoiding EVs is car batteries’ poor cold-weather performance. Now a novel electrolyte for next-generation lithium-ion batteries could help electric vehicles, mobile phones and other electronics operate and even recharge quickly during extreme freezing temperatures, a new study finds. Potential battery applications in satellites, […]
Solid-state lithium-ion batteries promise to be more safe, lightweight, and compact than their conventional counterparts. However, metal spikes can grow inside them, leading to short-circuit breakdowns. Now a new study finds that applying pressure on these batteries may be a simple way to prevent such failures. Conventional batteries supply electricity via chemical reactions between two […]
If grain must be dragged to market on an oxcart, how far can it go before the oxen eat up all the cargo? This, in brief, is the problem faced by any transportation system in which the vehicle must carry its own fuel. The key value is the density of energy, expressed with respect to […]
Ultrasound sensors as small as a thumbnail can scan lithium-ion batteries to check their charge, health and safety, a new study finds. The findings suggest ultrasound—that is, sound waves at frequencies higher than human hearing can detect—might one day help electric vehicles better estimate how much charge remains in their batteries. This approach might also […]
Standard electric-vehicle batteries can recharge much of their range in just 10 minutes by including a thin sheet of nickel inside them, a new study finds. This could provide a welcome and economically attractive alternative to expensive EVs that carry massive and massively expensive battery packs. If faster-charging options were available, enabling the EV’s sticker […]