Lamborghini secures eco-friendly organic lithium-ion batteries for EVs
MIT researchers devise new lithium-ion battery material to provide a more sustainable alternative to cobalt-containing batteries for electric cars.
With electric vehicles on the rise in the time of climate change, scientists have been working towards developing more sustainable batteries to prevent excessive waste.
Recently, MIT researchers devised a new lithium-ion battery material that could provide a more sustainable alternative to cobalt-containing batteries for electric cars.
MIT reports that in a new study, the researchers demonstrated a newly developed material, produced at a significantly lower cost than batteries containing cobalt, exhibits comparable electrical conductivity to cobalt batteries.
Cobal-free batteries, a better alternative
The researchers also found that the new battery possesses storage capacity comparable to cobalt batteries and can undergo faster charging.
“I think this material could have a big impact because it works really well,” stated Mircea Dincă, the W.M. Keck Professor of Energy at MIT.
“It is already competitive with incumbent technologies, and it can save a lot of the cost and pain and environmental issues related to mining the metals that currently go into batteries.”
The new battery material includes a cathode based on organic materials instead of cobalt or nickel. This material comprises layers of TAQ (bis-tetraaminobenzoquinone), a small organic molecule with three fused hexagonal rings.
According to the researchers, these layers can spread out in all directions, creating a structure resembling graphite. The molecules contain quinones, serving as electron reservoirs, and amines, aiding the material in forming robust hydrogen bonds.
Alluding to the cons of cobalt, Dincă added: “Cobalt batteries can store a lot of energy, and they have all of the features that people care about in terms of performance, but they have the issue of not being widely available, and the cost fluctuates broadly with commodity prices. And, as you transition to a much higher proportion of electrified vehicles in the consumer market, it will certainly get more expensive.”
Highly stable and insoluble
The material is highly stable and insoluble, preventing degradation by avoiding dissolution into the battery electrolyte.
The hydrogen bonds give the material strong stability and make it highly insoluble. This insolubility is crucial because it prevents the material from dissolving into the battery electrolyte, unlike some organic battery materials, thus making it last longer.
“One of the main methods of degradation for organic materials is that they simply dissolve into the battery electrolyte and cross over to the other side of the battery, essentially creating a short circuit, stated Dincă. “If you make the material completely insoluble, that process doesn’t happen so that we can go to over 2,000 charge cycles with minimal degradation.”
Lamborghini has obtained a patent for the technology. Researchers intend to keep working on new sustainable battery materials and are considering replacing lithium with sodium or magnesium, which are more affordable and readily available than lithium.
