EV Fan
07-23-2014, 08:22 AM
http://www.electricvehicleparade.com/storage/140710huolinxin.jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=140 5039475320Materials scientist Huolin Xin in Brookhaven Lab's Center for Functional Nanomaterials. (Source: Brookhaven National Laboratory)I've been waiting for a lithium ion battery breakthrough this entire year or some kind of advancement in 2014, especially with the Department of Energy's policy of research as a way to help private industry achieve quicker results for batteries, smart grids and renewable energy.
The new findings come from two studies from mulitple national laboratories—Lawrence Berkeley, Brookhaven, SLAC and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory—and they are examining lithium ion at a nano level (nano structures) to find out why a battery may degrade. A very interesting approach in my opinion and these results are revealing.
The lithium battery chemistries studied are nickel-oxide anode and a lithium-nickel-manganese-cobalt-oxide cathode, and they degrade at a nano level. To my knowledge, this is a first of its kind lithium ion research.
The big breakthrough reveals the lithium ion crystallization process during charging and discharging.
From the "Scientist Pinpoint the Creeping Nanocrystals Behind Lithium Ion Battery Degradation (http://www.bnl.gov/newsroom/news.php?a=24805)," article on Brookhave Natl Laboratory's site, Huolin Xin says, "We discovered surprising and never-before-seen evolution and degradation patterns in two key battery materials. Contrary to large-scale observation, the lithium-ion reactions actually erode the materials non-uniformly, seizing upon intrinsic vulnerabilities in atomic structure in the same way that rust creeps unevenly across stainless steel.”
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Related Content:
Lithium Ion Battery Reports Points to $200 kWh by 2020 (http://www.plugincars.com/lithium-ion-battery-prices-drop-160-kwh-2025-123193.html)
Gigafactory StoryMap | Staying in California (http://www.electricvehicleparade.com/blog/2014/4/14/gigafactory-storymap-staying-in-california.html)
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Other Highlights:
In an elegant and ingenious setup, the collaborations separately explored a nickel-oxide anode and a lithium-nickel-manganese-cobalt-oxide cathode—both notable for high capacity and cyclability—by placing samples inside common coin-cell batteries running under different voltages.
“Consider the way snowflakes only form around tiny particles or bits of dirt in the air,” Xin said. “Without an irregularity to glom onto, the crystals cannot take shape. Our nickel oxide anode only transforms into metallic nickel through nanoscale inhomogeneities or defects in the surface structure, a bit like chinks in the anode’s armor.”
Xin adds,"Armed with a precise map of the materials’ erosion, we can plan new ways to break the patterns and improve performance.”
The Department of Energy set the goal of $200 per kWh by 2020 to help advance electric vehicle adoption and seeing what the main culprit in batter degradation seems like a big step. Onward and upward.
More... (http://www.electricvehicleparade.com/blog/2014/7/10/national-labs-point-to-lithium-ion-battery-breakthrough.html)
The new findings come from two studies from mulitple national laboratories—Lawrence Berkeley, Brookhaven, SLAC and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory—and they are examining lithium ion at a nano level (nano structures) to find out why a battery may degrade. A very interesting approach in my opinion and these results are revealing.
The lithium battery chemistries studied are nickel-oxide anode and a lithium-nickel-manganese-cobalt-oxide cathode, and they degrade at a nano level. To my knowledge, this is a first of its kind lithium ion research.
The big breakthrough reveals the lithium ion crystallization process during charging and discharging.
From the "Scientist Pinpoint the Creeping Nanocrystals Behind Lithium Ion Battery Degradation (http://www.bnl.gov/newsroom/news.php?a=24805)," article on Brookhave Natl Laboratory's site, Huolin Xin says, "We discovered surprising and never-before-seen evolution and degradation patterns in two key battery materials. Contrary to large-scale observation, the lithium-ion reactions actually erode the materials non-uniformly, seizing upon intrinsic vulnerabilities in atomic structure in the same way that rust creeps unevenly across stainless steel.”
*****************************
Related Content:
Lithium Ion Battery Reports Points to $200 kWh by 2020 (http://www.plugincars.com/lithium-ion-battery-prices-drop-160-kwh-2025-123193.html)
Gigafactory StoryMap | Staying in California (http://www.electricvehicleparade.com/blog/2014/4/14/gigafactory-storymap-staying-in-california.html)
*****************************
Other Highlights:
In an elegant and ingenious setup, the collaborations separately explored a nickel-oxide anode and a lithium-nickel-manganese-cobalt-oxide cathode—both notable for high capacity and cyclability—by placing samples inside common coin-cell batteries running under different voltages.
“Consider the way snowflakes only form around tiny particles or bits of dirt in the air,” Xin said. “Without an irregularity to glom onto, the crystals cannot take shape. Our nickel oxide anode only transforms into metallic nickel through nanoscale inhomogeneities or defects in the surface structure, a bit like chinks in the anode’s armor.”
Xin adds,"Armed with a precise map of the materials’ erosion, we can plan new ways to break the patterns and improve performance.”
The Department of Energy set the goal of $200 per kWh by 2020 to help advance electric vehicle adoption and seeing what the main culprit in batter degradation seems like a big step. Onward and upward.
More... (http://www.electricvehicleparade.com/blog/2014/7/10/national-labs-point-to-lithium-ion-battery-breakthrough.html)