Monday, May 18, 2009 An NSERC-funded lab at the University Of Waterloo has laid the groundwork for a lithium battery that can store and deliver more than three times the power of conventional lithium ion batteries. The research team of professor Linda Nazar, graduate student David Xiulei Ji and postdoctoral fellow Kyu Tae Lee are one of the first to demonstrate robust electrochemical performance for a lithium-sulphur battery. The finding is reported today in the on-line issue of Nature Materials. Featured Article - Team reports major breakthrough in lithium battery technology Does this sound promising for future Prii?
3X ? If they actually can do that, it will revolutionize human society. (and just think of all the electronics that are not portable today that will become portable)
COOL!!! There actually is a physical limit to charge density. As the atoms of carbon add electrons, they grow physically. At the nano level this growth eventually causes breakdown of the boundry between the carbon and the media (in this case sulphur). This method of producing nano-tubules filled with molton sulphur and cooled helps spread out the boundry, and increases to contact surface area. However, at some charge density the physical properties of adding and removing electrons will still cause a physical change in molecule size. We haven't reached that density boundry yet, and this breakthrough will, indeed, revolutionize energy storage yet again. I wonder if we will reach storage densities that will allow stored electricity to power a car for a distance that will expand its utility beyond the urban environment? And what about charge/discharge cycle times? Is this new battery tolerant of fast cycles? Cycle rate is almost more important than density.
As a suggestion, let's start looking for SAE or Chemical or other professional organization papers and the patents on this battery. One of the historical problems with sulfur batteries is they required elevated temperatures to work. Ions still had to be mobile and the press release discusses an element that is normally a solid at room temperature. Understand that I have no problem with liquid metal or high temperature batteries. We know enough about insulation and control systems that I think they are ready for 'prime time.' Like ultra-capacitors, a great theory until you realize the control electronics are not trivial. Everything has to work, not just the basic chemistry. Otherwise, we'd all be running hydrogen fool cell vehicles. Bob Wilson
the way I read it they poored liquid sulphur into/around the carbon annode and then let it cool to a solid. I don't believe they were suggesting the battery would require liquid sulphur to work. That said, I fully agree that operating temps, control, and charge rates are all of considerable interest in design useability in the real world (not just the lab).
