MIT Battery Breakthrough Could Revolutionize Electric Cars
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed battery cells capable of charging in under a minute, an astonishing 100 times faster than a regular rechargable battery.
The breakthrough could revolutionize electric car battery technology and pave the way for ultra-fast charging electric vehicles in as little as two years.
The discovery came when MIT researchers Byoungwoo Kang and Gerbrand Ceder found out how to get a common lithium compound to release and take up lithium ions in a matter of seconds. According to Ceder, the compound, known as lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4), has a crystal structure that creates “perfectly sized tunnels for lithium to move through,” allowing the team to reach “ridiculously fast charging rates.”
- » See also: Leo Motors CEO Dr. Robert Kang on the Future of Electric Vehicles
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Ceder and Kang theorized that the lithium ions were having difficulty finding their way to the crystal structure’s ‘express tunnels’ and devised a way to assist the ions by coating the surface of the cathode with a thin layer of lithium phosphate glass, known to be an excellent lithium conductor. When the team tested the newly-coated cathode, they discovered it could be charged and discharged in as little as 9 seconds.
According to Peter Bruce, a chemist at the University of St Andrews, UK, “As far as I know, this is the fastest yet for this material.”
Speaking about the process, outlined in this weeks edition of Nature, Ceder has speculated that further improvements in modelling will enable the discovery of other candidates for ultra-fast batteries. “My guess is that there are more materials like this out there,” he says.
[Source: NatureNews]Image Credit - Jesus Presley via flickr.com on a Creative Commons license
Good to know this happened in the U.S. of A. Hopefully the funding was from the same place as well….
I think a few billion should be taken out of the Detroit bailout and give some capital to all of the electric car companies. The tango (commuter cars) says they only need 50 million to become profitable. This is a drop in the bucket. I agree with sebastian.
Fast recharge will require huge power levels. To recharge 20 kilowatt-hours of capacity in 5 minutes requires 240 kilowatts of electricity. Do you think there will ever be consumer grade connectors capable of sending that much electricity safely?
that is really fast but make no different if there are not fast changing stations. It will still take long time to charge a car from a house out let.
As nice as this sounds, Messr. Herron makes a valid point. Charging 20kw/h in an hour takes almost 100 amps for an hour. For electric vehicles with large battery packs, the biggest limiter is already in the circuit panel. Installing a dedicated circuit panel say a 200 amp model could be an alternative or supplement to public fast charging stations. You shouldn’t wait till the battery runs on empty anyway so even at half capacity at 100 amps, 30 minutes isn’t unreasonable to recharge if you wash the windows and checks the tires while you wait. And if you’re going electric a dedicated circuit panel in your garage wouldn’t be inconceivable. It allow for that on-demand water heater you were probably considering too, the more extravagant systems use close to 150 amps but only part-time and you won’t need that capacity when you’re asleep.
But besides that, the only electronics potentially benefiting from THIS breakthrough are RCs and household rechargeable batteries.
I don’t need fast charging. The availability of high current charging power is not important. I charge my EV for 8 hours when I get to work, and then again overnight when I get home. About 15 amps from a 110v outlet is adequate. Like most people, I tend to drive less than 30 miles a day, so I won’t run out of charge.
What I do need is an affordable alternative to Lead Acid.
This battery is going to absorb peaks from wind-turbines, hitherto dumped to prevent damage to lines! A really significant efficiency increase will be realized, and in combination with the new “variable” alternators from Vancouver, Canada, major wind power efficiencies can be anticipated! Filling car batteries overnight, or any other time when no longer limited by our current mind locking, tech blocking, bullshit 120 vac, crap system, and fed by high volt D.C.Or other better transmission systems will be a lark! Folks who quote the math of the old system like a well memorized mantra are limited by the notion that no other system will ever exist, while in fact, super capacitive storage systems currently use higher voltages, in the 3000 volt range and rising, to attain larger power transfers, faster, and on lighter wiring! I see a future of higher voltage ranges, high voltage to high current devices other than a.c. transformers, High voltage battery car systems, home systems, etc., if for no other reason than to save on copper, an increasingly expensive commodity! Europe uses 220 v.a.c. right now, and our conventional 60 Hz is absolute crap - most modern airliners use 400Hz, to save on size of alternators, generators motors and transformers! Please, don’t stay “Lost in the 60’s”!
20kwh @ 220 + about 100 amps or at half charge 50 amps for 1 hour/or 500 amps for 6 mins.
using higher voltage 660vac = 35 amps for 1 hour or use 10 lines to feed 10 batteries at 35 amps for 6 mins.
many ways to accomplish the charging. The cable to charge can be locking just like power cable to camper.
First, you don’t need 5 minute recharge capacity at home the same way you don’t need a gas station in your backyard, 3 hours recharge power is more than enough for daily overnight fill-up. For a fast 5 minute recharge, a high power station could be installed almost anywhere and electricity sold at a profit by the owner. It could be installed near shopping centers, hotels, gas station etc…
Any one knows of ways to store solar power in batteries during the day and release the electricity later to charge EVs?
Wouldn’t this be a foolproof system?