In a collaborative measure, Samsung and Massachusetts Institute of Technology have teamed up to make strides towards fresh battery tech that could enable an infinite lifespan.
The teams realized that replacing the electrolyte of a battery can potentially extend battery life indefinitely. The electrolyte is one of the base components of a battery along with the cathode and the anode and is generally found in a liquid state within the battery. The research findings concluded that changing this from liquid to solid state could extend a battery’s lifetime indefinitely.
The research team was able to analyze the factors that make for efficient ion conduction in solids, and home in on compounds that showed the right characteristics. The initial findings focused on a class of materials known as superionic lithium-ion conductors, which are compounds of lithium, germanium, phosphorus, and sulfur, but the principles derived from this research could lead to even more effective materials, the team says.
A solid state electrolyte battery would also not be flammable or prone to overheating making it much safer too. In addition, it could also bring 20-30% higher power capacity. Now worth noting is that this is all still at the research level and consumer application could be almost a decade away if it ever does see application. That said, it is always nice to see innovation being done on what forms a very fundamental component of modern electronics.
Via – MIT