Anode-less lithium ion battery could last twice as long at 1200 Wh per liter

Solid Energy Systems is developing “Anode-less” battery designs with ultra-thin metal anode improves the cell-level energy density by 50% compared to graphite anodes and 30% compared to silicon-composite anodes.

It would be a new kind of lithium-ion battery that could let portable electronics such as smartphones and smart watches last twice as long between charges.

The secret to boosting energy storage lies in swapping the conventional electrode material—graphite—for a thin sheet of lithium-metal foil, which can store more lithium ions.

Battery makers have been trying to use lithium-metal electrodes in batteries for decades, with only limited success. SolidEnergy seems to have solved a couple of key problems, which have caused such batteries to either stop working after a few charges or burst into flames

SolidEnergy’s solution is to use both a solid electrolyte and a liquid one. The solid electrolyte is applied to the lithium-metal foil—the ions don’t have far to travel through this thin material, so it doesn’t matter that they’re moving relatively slowly.

Solid Energy’s prototype can be recharged 300 times while retaining 80 percent of its original storage capacity—closer to what you’d need in portable electronics. It also works at room temperature, whereas some other lithium-metal batteries operate at temperatures too hot to be practical.

SOURCES- Solid Energy, Technology Review, Youtube