Lithium News

Researchers have found how to convert cost free forest waste, like pine cones, into carbon materials useful for energy storage. The method allows for easy and environmentally friendly dispersion of carbon in water, even when it is not water-soluble. The blend can then be sprayed onto a surface to produce electrodes for supercapacitors.

Supercapacitors are energy storage devices, similar to batteries, but storing energy in a different way. Supercapacitors can be charged and discharged much faster compared to batteries, cycled nearly unlimited number of times and operated over significantly longer lifespan compared to batteries. Supercapacitors are already used in some industries and are predicted to play an increasingly important role in the future as the need for energy storage is expected to grow.

High surface area electrodes, i.e., electrodes with a large surface area in relation to their volume, are the key element of supercapacitors. Andreas Nordenström, doctoral student at the Department of Physics at Umeå University, shows that high quality electrodes can be produced by spraying, or painting, water-based dispersions based on high surface area carbon materials. Different types of carbon materials can be used in the water-based dispersions designed by the researchers, including porous carbons produced from various forest waste.

“The water-based dispersion has several advantages over dispersions based on organic solvents, which are often toxic and bad for the environment. The solvents are particularly problematic in this context because the dispersions are sprayed on hot surfaces producing toxic vapor,” says Andreas Nordenström.

The procedure developed by researchers to produce porous carbons was earlier developed for “activated graphene,” a material prepared starting from reduced graphene oxide. However, the same chemical treatment applied to carbonized pine cones, spruce cones and pine bark was found to produce very similar carbon materials with extremely high surface area. These porous carbons are also nearly equally good for preparation of electrodes and energy storage applications.

“We demonstrated that rather expensive ‘activated graphene’ is just another kind of activated carbon and can be replaced by cheap, high-quality electrodes prepared from forest waste. The interest to recycle forest waste will likely increase in the future as the demand for energy storage devices such as supercapacitors is expected to increase,” says Nordenström.

The water-based dispersions can also play an important role for future research projects as the method can be used for different types of non-water soluble carbon materials.

“Porous carbons are very difficult to prepare in stable water-dispersions. Simply mixing carbon with water does not work as the carbon particles drop to the bottom in few minutes time. Using graphene oxide and fumed silica as added components, we solved the problem. We heard from industrial colleagues that dispersion prepared using our method was stable on their shelf for over one year.”

In his thesis, Nordenström has also studied graphite oxide, a carbon material that can be modified in many ways and for many potential applications. The research results increase the basic understanding of the material and show, among other things, how graphite oxide can be used in membranes which might be of interest for various filtration applications.

On Friday, September 29, Nordenström, Department of Physics, will defend his thesis entitled “Properties and applications of materials based on graphene oxide.”

Lithium-ion battery prices dropped 10% in August, which could help lower the cost of the electric vehicles they power enough to put them on par with gas-powered automobiles.

EVs have traditionally had higher upfront costs, with the price of the battery a chief factor. But the average price for batteries fell to $98.20 per kilowatt-hour last month, according to energy analytics firm Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, the first time in two years it has dipped below $100.

Battery pack prices need to reach $100 per kilowatt-hour for EVs to achieve price parity with their fossil-fuel counterparts, Benchmark said.

“Decreasing cell prices could allow [original equipment manufacturers] to sell mass-market EVs at comparable prices to ICE vehicles, with the same margin, improving the attractiveness of the EV transition for both consumers and automakers,” Benchmark analyst Evan Hartley said in a statement.

A decade ago, lithium-ion batteries averaged $668 per kilowatt-hour. By March 2022, they were down to $146.40, falling another 33% to reach August’s average. According to market intelligence firm TrendForce, “a continued gradual price decline [should be] expected for the rest of the year.”

Government subsidies, increased competition, improvements in battery chemistry and the raw materials used to make the batteries becoming less expensive are some of the numerous factors fueling the reduction, experts say. The price of lithium has fallen more than 50% since the start of 2023, and the cost of nickel and cobalt have also declined significantly.

There’s also the fact that demand for EVs is growing more slowly than the industry had predicted: In June, US carmakers had close to 100 days’ worth of unsold EVs sitting on their lots, Cox Automotive reported, more than three times the number a year earlier.

Besides EVs, rechargeable lithium-ion batteries are found in everything from smartphones and laptops to electric toothbrushes and vaping devices. They’re also used in solar power storage, and the price drop could boost consumers’ interest in solar-plus-battery setups for their homes.

In August, geologists reported on massive lithium deposits uncovered within the McDermitt caldera, an extinct supervolcano on the Nevada-Oregon border. The cauldron-like hollow may contain up to 40 million metric tons of extractable lithium, making it the largest deposit in the world.

If so, that could be enough to satisfy global battery demand for decades, according to the Independent.

“It could change the dynamics of lithium globally, in terms of price, security of supply and geopolitics,” Belgian geologist Anouk Borst told Chemistry World. “The US would have its own supply of lithium, and industries would be less scared about supply shortages.”

Electric cars are supposed to supplant internal combustion-powered vehicles over the next 10–20 years. And while the sales of electric cars are growing, they remain a small fraction of the U.S. market due to their higher costs and limited charging stations.

These problems should be resolved over the next few years, with likely breakthroughs in battery technology to reduce the average cost of electric vehicle batteries. Combine that with a nationwide expansion of fast-charging stations, along with lower costs for electric motors as automakers ramp up production, and electric vehicles could reach price parity with – and maybe even cost less than – traditional cars, while becoming just as convenient to “refill”.

That’s the future many envision, but for now, EV battery packs remain the single most expensive part of an electric car. Thankfully, all-electric car batteries are covered by an eight-year, 100,000-mile warranty, so if a new or moderately used EV needs a new battery it’s possible, even likely, to be replaced for free. Better still, battery degradation is rare in modern EVs, with most of them retaining 90-plus percent of their battery capacity for a decade or more. However, despite their impressive life span, every EV battery will eventually fail. And if it’s out of warranty, the electric car battery replacement cost will be paid by the owner. So let’s dive into electric car battery costs.

Plug-in hybrid cars, including the BMW i3, Chevy Volt, Hyundai Ioniq, and Toyota Prius Prime, have relatively small battery packs, typically between 10 and 20 kilowatt-hours. Looking at the automotive repair site Repair Pal shows the cost of battery replacement for these hybrids between $9,000 and $11,000, including labor costs.

As expected, full electric cars like the Chevy Bolt, Nissan Leaf, and Tesla Model 3, use substantially larger batteries, with substantially larger electric car battery costs. For the Chevrolet Bolt’s 60 kWh battery, that cost is between $17,000 and $19,000, including labor. The latest Nissan Leaf’s battery is smaller than the Bolt’s, and a bit cheaper, at around $16,000. A replacement Tesla battery for the Model 3, which at 75 kWh is larger than the Bolt or Leaf, is more difficult to ascertain. Tesla doesn’t use conventional dealerships, and it tends to restrict everything related to vehicle pricing, including the cost of parts and labor. Looking at various internet sources suggests a Model 3 battery costs between $15,000 and $18,000.

It’s important to remember that battery costs will vary based on everything from where an electric car is located to what is happening in the global geopolitical world. A year ago, before the war in Ukraine, the lithium-ion batteries that power modern electric vehicles were much cheaper. But the cost of lithium skyrocketed after the war began, making formerly profitable models, like the Mustang Mach-E, a money-losing proposition for Ford. A similar price hike occurred with nickel and palladium, two other key components in EV battery production.

This increase in raw material costs has been reflected in recent price hikes for electric vehicles, reducing their affordability for mainstream consumers. This is the challenge the automotive industry must overcome if it wants to realize the sustainability and zero-emission benefits of electric vehicles. A breakthrough in battery technology could move solid-state batteries from theory to reality, reducing their costs, extending EV battery life, and increasing the speed of EV charging. But until such breakthroughs occur, the high cost of producing and replacing electric car batteries will remain a barrier to entry for many mainstream consumers considering an EV.

Researchers from the University of Tsukuba have developed a method for the real-time visualization of the current distribution inside a fuel cell through non-destructive diagnostics using magnetic sensors.

The researchers have clarified that, in contrast to voltage, the current distribution has a recovery delay. In addition, the researchers have realized a control system that enables the stable operation of fuel cells using only the current distribution as a control index.

Fuel cells are attracting attention as a clean energy source technology because the cells do not produce carbon dioxide and emit only water during power generation. However, two contradictory phenomena can hamper their performance: flooding, wherein water remains inside the fuel cell and interferes with power generation, and dry-out, wherein an excess of water is removed and the polymer membrane, through which hydrogen ions permeate, dries out.

To detect such issues, devices and sensors have been used in analyses based on substantial amounts of data.

A research team has been investigating a method for detecting and controlling fuel cell malfunctions using magnetic sensors. By improving the diagnostic method, the team developed a system to visualize and control the current distribution in the fuel cell in real time. Their work has been published in Applied Energy.

The researchers found that control based on voltage indices stabilizes voltage, while the current distribution is biased in the same manner as a malfunction. However, a simple control method based solely on the current distribution kept the current distribution in the fuel cell constant, enabling the fuel cell to operate in a stable state.

In future research, the aim is to establish a comprehensive fuel cell diagnostic and control system with the objective of incorporating this method into real-world fuel cell systems.

Dragonfly Energy Holdings Corp., the Reno, Nevada-based producer of Battle Born Batteries, has developed a lithium-based battery cell using lithium hydroxide recovered from lithium-ion batteries by Aqua Metals Inc. The lithium-based battery cell was manufactured using Dragonfly Energy’s dry battery electrode coating technology.

The process demonstrates a potential path toward a more circular lithium battery manufacturing industry, Dragonfly Energy says.

A research team led by Professor Hongkyung Lee at DGIST has developed a new manufacturing method for replacing lithium foil, overcoming the limitations of lithium batteries and potentially replacing existing commercial lithium cathodes through a new manufacturing process.

Lithium metal, which is widely known as an ideal cathode material for batteries, can be used to create batteries that overcome the energy density limitations of conventional lithium-ion batteries since it has 10 times more theoretical capacity than graphite, which is currently commercialized.

Nonetheless, lithium metal is commonly used as lithium foil, which results in the formation of an oxide layer during production and storage. Therefore, lithium dendrite easily forms during charging and discharging as the lithium surface quality is abruptly degraded, which ultimately hinders commercialization.

The research team led by Professor Hongkyung Lee thus developed a new manufacturing method for replacing lithium foil. This particular method involves manufacturing a much smoother and more uniform lithium metal cathode by applying electroplating using a pseudo-high-concentration electrolyte.

The surface of the lithium created with the pseudo-high-concentration electrolyte contains a high level of fluorine-based substances, thus lowering the reactivity with the electrolyte and allowing it to be manufactured thinly and compactly through simple physical compression. The lithium cathode manufactured accordingly is much smoother than commercial lithium foil, has a more uniform chemical composition on the surface layer, and can be more easily manufactured in large sizes compared to conventional manufacturing processes.

The surface layer of the currently available lithium foil contains a large amount of lithium carbonate (Li₂CO₃) and has uneven chemical compositions. Consequently, the lithium grows irregularly, which causes problems when it comes in contact with the electrolyte. However, the lithium metal developed by Professor Lee’s research team forms an “electro-native layer,” thus having an affinity with the electrolyte and low resistance.

As a result, fast and uniform electrochemical reactions are induced, successfully suppressing dendrite growth. Furthermore, lithium is discharged smoothly during discharging, which enables the battery interior to be kept smooth. This enhancement will lead to significant improvements in the performance and stability of lithium batteries when designing commercial batteries.

Professor Lee said, “This research has drastically improved the life of lithium batteries by simply improving the initial surface quality of the lithium cathode,” and added “Further research will be conducted to accelerate the commercialization of lithium metal batteries by introducing the surface stabilization technology.”

The paper is published in the journal Energy Storage Materials.