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					</table><p>Scientists at the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (<a href="https://www.nrel.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NREL</a>) have developed a new manufacturing process called BatMan that could improve electric vehicle (EV) batteries by making them charge faster and drive further.</p>
<p>The new technology uses lasers to create small pore networks in battery electrodes. This allows ions to move through the battery more quickly during charging and discharging, resulting in faster charge times.</p>
<p>The number of EVs is set to <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/electric-vehicle-700-million-2040" target="_blank" rel="noopener">exceed</a> 100 million by 2026 and reach 700 million by 2040, from only 27 million at the beginning of 2023. A sharp <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/at-139-kwh-lithium-prices-hit-all-time-low" target="_blank" rel="noopener">decline </a>in prices of lithium-ion batteries made EVs more affordable as manufacturers slashed prices to pass down cost-savings to customers.</p>
<p>The addition of millions of EVs on the roads will pressure charging networks and increase “range anxiety,” necessitating the need for batteries that charge quickly.</p>
<p>But which pore patterns yield the greatest benefits? The researchers, using advanced 3D modeling, found that a hexagonal pattern of pores with a depth of 50% of the electrode coating thickness yielded the best results.</p>
<p>The pores were then created using high-speed lasers developed by the company <a href="https://amplitude-laser.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Amplitude Laser Group</a>. “Our collaboration with NREL helped integrate the laser into their existing research capabilities to support the BatMan project goals,” said Quentin Mocaer, line manager at Amplitude Laser.</p>
<p>The study also found that adding straight channels across the width of the electrode dramatically improved electrode ’wetting’ when compared to unstructured electrodes.</p>
<p>Wetting is the process of getting electrolyte fluid into the battery. The electrode can be like a dry sponge, where the liquid electrolyte must spread and absorb evenly. Inadequate wetting can hinder the movement of ions, resulting in slower charging, lower energy density, and decreased battery efficiency.</p>
<p>Better wetting leads to higher performance and longer battery life.</p>
<p>Early tests by battery manufacturer <a href="https://www.clarios.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Clarios</a> showed that the electrodes wet faster and more uniformly with the laser patterning, demonstrating superior fast-charge performance, with nearly 100% more capacity after 800 cycles.</p>
<p>Using a roll-to-roll manufacturing line, which bonds the active material mixture onto a foil surface and is used in most battery manufacturing facilities, the scientists successfully produced over 700 meters of laser-patterned electrode material. This demonstrated that the technique can be scaled up for mass production in battery factories.</p>
<p>Researchers also found that laser-patterning adds less than 2% to battery costs but could double charge rates, making EVs much more practical for everyday use.</p>


New Technology May Help EV Batteries Charge Faster, Last Longer


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					</table><p>A recent study by the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (<a href="https://www.kit.edu/english/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">KIT</a>) has shown that the formation of the solid electrolyte interphase, which is crucial for the functioning of lithium-ion batteries, occurs through the aggregation of solutions rather than directly at the electrode.</p>
<p>The findings offer insights into developing more efficient and long-lasting batteries in the future.</p>
<p>The researchers reached this conclusion through simulations, and the results of their study have been published in the <em>Advanced Energy Materials</em> journal.</p>
<p>These batteries, including liquid electrolyte batteries, function reliably on a solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) that forms when voltage is applied for the first time.</p>
<p>The passivation layer, also known as the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI), plays a crucial role in a lithium-ion battery&#8217;s electrochemical capacity and lifetime, as it is subjected to high stress during every charging cycle.</p>
<p>When the SEI is broken down, the electrolyte is further decomposed, resulting in reduced battery capacity, ultimately determining the battery&#8217;s lifetime.</p>
<p>Controlling the properties of a battery requires a thorough understanding of the SEI&#8217;s growth and composition. However, hitherto no approach has been able to decipher SEI&#8217;s complex growth processes at broad scales and dimensions.</p>
<p>It has remained a mystery how the particles in the electrolytes form a passivation layer up to 100 nanometers thick on the surface of the electrode, as the decomposition reaction is only possible within a few nanometers distance from the surface.</p>
<p>The new study from KIT has successfully characterized the formation of the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) using a multi-scale approach, solving a major mystery regarding the functioning of liquid electrolyte batteries.</p>
<p>To understand the formation and properties of the passivation layer in liquid electrolyte batteries, KIT&#8217;s Institute of Nanotechnology conducted over 50,000 simulations with various reaction conditions.</p>
<p>The team discovered that the SEI follows a solution-mediated pathway, where SEI precursors formed directly at the surface join far away from the electrode surface via nucleation.</p>
<p>This process forms a porous layer that eventually covers the electrode surface.</p>
<p>Researchers can develop suitable electrolytes and additives to control SEI properties and optimize battery performance and lifespan by identifying key reaction parameters that determine SEI thickness.</p>
<p>Recently, researchers at the Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, China, and Kyushu Institute of Technology, Japan, <a href="https://mercomindia.com/crab-shells-could-power-rechargeable-batteries/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">upcycled</a> crab shells into porous, carbon-filled materials with various uses, including crab carbon, to create anode materials for sodium-ion batteries.</p>
<p>Earlier this month, researchers at South Korea&#8217;s Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology <a href="https://mercomindia.com/perovskite-alkylammonium-26-08-efficiency/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">developed</a> a perovskite solar cell using alkylammonium chloride to control the formation of defects in the perovskite layer.</p>


KIT Researchers Discover a New Solution to Battery Passivation Puzzle

<p>Japanese researchers have developed a new electrode material that they claim will make lithium batteries cheaper, more stable, and capable of holding more charge for longer periods.</p>
<p>The team was led by Naoaki Yabuuchi, a professor at <a href="https://www.ynu.ac.jp/english/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Yokohama National University</a>. He explained that while researchers have previously managed to improve the charge-holding capacity of lithium batteries, they have not been able to improve the amount of charge the batteries can disperse in a useful way.</p>
<p>&#8220;Electrode materials with higher energy density are needed to advance lithium-ion batteries and to further develop electric vehicles,&#8221; Yabuuchi said. &#8220;Our paper demonstrates a new electrode material for this purpose.&#8221;</p>
<p>Electrode materials in batteries are the medium through which stored energy from the battery is transferred to the device being powered by it. The electrode material plays a large role in how efficiently the battery operates.</p>
<p>Previously, researchers found that lithium ions mixed with manganese, titanium, and oxygen ions worked well, but the exchange speed was too slow to be practical. Now, Yabuuchi and his team have developed a method that results in a more robust exchange of electrons and lithium ions, which also helps batteries hold and discharge power better while lasting longer.</p>
<p>Lithium-ion batteries are the most used batteries in electronic devices, electric vehicles, and stationary energy storage. They are usually smaller, lighter, and more compact compared to alternatives like lead-acid or nickel-based batteries.</p>
<p>The downsides of lithium-ion batteries are that they are delicate and need protection from being over-charged and discharged too far, which usually requires additional circuitry. This leads to them being more expensive to manufacture.</p>
<p>Also, due to their relatively more volatile nature, there is a risk of them catching fire or exploding. Because of this, transporting them is problematic, and airlines generally impose restrictions on them.</p>
<p>Another issue that these batteries age and degrade much faster than their counterparts. They can only withstand a limited number of charge and discharge cycles, after which their charge-holding capacity drops.</p>
<p>Previously, Mercom <a href="https://mercomindia.com/cathode-material-based-titanium-fluoride-phosphate/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reported</a> that researchers from the Skoltech Center for Energy Science and Technology designed a new cathode material based on titanium fluoride phosphate, which is stated to be stable and has achieved superior performance at high discharge currents.</p>
<p>Earlier, researchers at Penn State University <a href="https://mercomindia.com/lithium-ion-battery-may-last-one-million-miles/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">claimed</a> to have developed a lithium-ion battery that is safe and has power and can last up to one million miles. A team of researchers at the Penn State&#8217;s Battery and Energy Storage Technology Center developed the battery.</p>


Researchers Develop New Electrode Material to Make Lithium Batteries More Efficient

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