Lithium News

Lead acid batteries are built in 2-volt cell configurations and are offered in a wide range of capacity & voltage options to meet the needs of a specific install. Lead acid battery banks are scalable to meet small to large-capacity storage needs.

A new research by Greentech Media (GMT) shows that Australia is leading the global race in energy storage, having installed the most storage technology in the world during 2017, ahead of Germany, the United States and Japan.

According to GMT’s “Global Energy Storage: 2017 Year in Review and 2018-22 Outlook” Australia installed an astonishing 246 megawatts (MW) of energy storage power capacity, enough to power almost 400,000 homes at one time, while also taking second place for energy capacity (MWh).

“Australia is on an energy storage winning streak and was also recognised as having the biggest household storage market anywhere in the world last year,” climate councillor and energy expert Greg Bourne said.

“Our transition to clean, reliable and affordable renewable energy and storage technology is already in full swing, with the nation home to the most powerful lithium ion battery in the world plus a collection of new storage projects in the pipeline.”

Bourne, the former President of BP Australasia, said renewables plus storage technology was a winning combination for tackling worsening climate change, while also making economic sense.

“In the past eight years the price of lithium-ion batteries has dropped by 80% and is tipped to halve again by 2025, which is driving investment in this booming industry both here and abroad,” he said.

Earlier this week, the United Nations also released the latest renewable energy data for 2017 where Australia again was ahead of the pack, with investments jumping 147% to $11 billion (AU).

“Renewables and energy storage such as batteries will ensure the nation’s grid is fully charged, especially during extreme weather events such as the heatwaves being experienced in South Australia this week,” he said.

“Our states and territories are leading the renewables and energy storage race, transitioning us to a 21st century energy grid Australians can be proud of.”

“Unfortunately, the Federal Government’s proposed National Energy Guarantee (NEG) could put all of this at risk.”

“This new data shows exactly what Australia is capable of and that we are truly global leaders in renewables and battery storage – let’s keep the momentum going and continue to move away from ageing, polluting and inefficient fossil fuel power.”

Scientists have discovered structure of a sodium-based material that could enable the materials to be used as an electrolyte in solid-state batteries – one that is safer than conventional lithium-based materials.

The claims come via researchers from Penn State and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), who are apparently in the process of fine-tuning the material using a design approach they hope will speed-up research in this area.

The rechargeable batteries in most modern day smartphones and portable gadgets use a liquid, lithium-based electrolyte, the part of a battery responsible for transferring charged ions in a solid-state battery.

The team’s new material is composed of sodium, phosphorous, tin and sulphur and has a tetragonal crystal shape

“Liquid electrolytes have safety issues because they are flammable,” said Donghai Wang, associate professor of mechanical engineering at PNNL. “That has been the driving force for us to find a good material for use in solid-state batteries.”

The team’s new material is composed of sodium, phosphorous, tin and sulphur and has a tetragonal crystal shape so, where it has defects or spaces where certain sodium, tin and sulfur atoms would be, it still allows for the transfer of ions.

This material should not only be cheaper to use because sodium is much more abundant than lithium, but it would also be safer in use, said the researchers.

When you heat liquid electrolytes up to 150 degrees Celsius, they will catch fire or release a lot of heat that could damage other battery or electronic components. Our material performs well up to 400 degrees

“Our material has a wide voltage window as well as high thermal stability,” added Zhaoxin Yu, postdoctoral researcher in mechanical and nuclear engineering at PNNL.

“When you heat liquid electrolytes up to 150 degrees Celsius, they will catch fire or release a lot of heat that could damage other battery or electronic components. Our material performs well up to 400 degrees Celsius.”

According to a Nano Energy report, the team said that the material has room-temperature ionic conductivity about one-tenth that of liquid electrolytes used in today’s batteries. The important discovery, they said, is the specific configuration of defects within the crystal structure.

They added that the discovery also shows that there’s a pathway for creating a new family of advanced sodium-ion superionic conductors, classes of solid materials that exhibit an unusually high ionic conductivity, making them good materials for making batteries.

With an eye on achieving an all-electric car fleet by 2030, India has started reaching out to the ‘Lithium Triangle’ in South America to meet the demand for the metal used in batteries for electric vehicles. The ‘Lithium Triangle’, comprising Chile, Argentina and Bolivia, are also members of International Solar Alliance (ISA), an initiative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which fosters South-South Cooperation. India’s push for electric cars will help to cut its oil import bills.

The Indian Space Research Organisation and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) are working on the development of low-cost lithium-ion batteries that can be used in EVs and other equipments.

According to a NITI Aayog report titled ‘India’s Energy Storage Mission: A Make-in-India

Opportunity for Globally Competitive Battery Manufacturing’: “In line with its aspiration to achieve 100% EV sales by 2030, India can rise among the top countries in the world in manufacturing batteries. To do so, however, will require a strategy designed to overcome India’s relatively weak initial position in battery manufacturing while claiming an increasing share of total battery value over time. India’s market for EV batteries alone could be worth as much as $300 billion from 2017 to 2030.”

Talking to FE, ambassador of Bolivia to India Sergio Arispe Barrientos said, “With the largest lithium reserves in the world, Bolivia can partner with India in its electric vehicle park projects. In fact, Tata Motors is expected to travel to Bolivia to explore possibilities for sourcing lithium for its electric cars.”

Sharing his expertise with FE, Debajit Palit, senior fellow & associate director at The Energy & Resources Institute (TERI) said, “It is important for us to get lithium from the source countries, which are mostly in Latin America, if we are to succeed with our plan for electric mobility (storage being the key requirement).

“Though in the medium to long-run, other storage technologies will come in the market (e.g. hybrid cars can be made with flywheels instead of batteries), but in the short to medium-term, lithium batteries will have to be used,” Palit added.

Recently, Argentina approached Indian government and companies to invest in lithium mines in the South American nation.

“To meet India’s demand for electric vehicles, lithium will be needed in abundance to produce lithium-ion batteries. I am told India is planning to set up large lithium-ion battery plants. Argentina is ready to meet India’s growing demand for lithium,” Mario Osvaldo Capello, undersecretary of mining development, ministry of energy and mining, Argentina had said recently.

Lane County is warning residents about the danger of throwing lithium batteries in the trash, which, as they become more popular, have become a bigger problem for landfills.

The major problem with lithium batteries is, if damaged, they’re prone to explode or start a fire.

Since last June, Lane County Waste Management notes 16 battery-related fires at Short Mountain landfill. Now, they’re spreading a word of caution to fix the problem.

They’re in laptops, cell phones, and electric tools. Even some regular old AA batteries are lithium these days, and there’s one place they just do not belong — in your trash.

Hazardous Waste Program Supervisor, Don Strunk, says to keep them out of trash and home, and out of the County’s landfill. Because once these batteries are damaged or punctured, they’re a fire waiting to happen.

If you throw that type of hazardous material into a landfill that is rife with fuel, it could mean disaster. Just last week, there was a fire at the Short Mountain Landfill, and Lane County doesn’t know what caused it.

Often times in these fires, they say lithium batteries are the culprit, which is why they’re now issuing a warning before the weather starts to heat up in the area.

“In the summertime, it’s not uncommon for us to have and have a fire every week,” said Strunk.

So to avoid that this year, they ask everyone to dispose of your lithium batteries properly, either at a transfer station that will accept them as part of electronics recycling, or by appointment, for free, at the Hazardous Waste Collection Center in Glenwood.

This way, they don’t have to worry anymore about where and when lithium batteries could spark.

For those on the coast, this weekend Lane County is collecting household hazardous waste in Florence, which includes lithium batteries. They’ll be at the site off Rhododendron on Friday, from noon to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Batteries have become big business in the fight against climate change, increasingly used for storing the electricity generated by renewable energy and to power electric cars, in an attempt to reduce greenhouse gas pollution.

Lithium is the key element in these and other rechargeable batteries used for powering electric gadgets and much else. The soaring demand for lithium is even making it feasible to prospect for it in Cornwall using satellite data (The Times, January 25).

The world’s largest lithium reserves are in what is called the “lithium triangle”, covering Argentina, Bolivia and Chile. Production is greatest at a salt flat in the Atacama desert, Chile, one of the driest places on Earth. An even larger, but untapped, supply lies in Bolivia under Salar de Uyuni, a vast salt flat in the Andes. This was created when a huge ancient lake dissolved the lithium out of volcanic rocks and slowly evaporated, leaving behind a concentrated lithium brine beneath a thick crust of solid salt.