These 6 new battery technologies may change the mobile phone and automobile industries

    Currently, common batteries all use lithium-ion technology, but this technology is about to reach its "limit": researchers say that lithium-ion technology can only be improved by 30% at most on its current basis.

    Wall Street analysts are optimistic about technological breakthroughs in the battery field. Perhaps in the near future, our cars, houses, and mobile phones will all use cheap and efficient electricity.

    We are now facing breakthroughs in battery technology that will allow our smartphones to last for days, electric cars to travel more than 500 kilometers on a single charge, and our homes to store energy for days. In the future, these six new battery technologies may change the way we live:

1. Lithium sulfide battery

    Lithium-sulfur may be the next generation battery technology that is closest to maturity, cheapest, and easiest to implement. The energy storage density of lithium-sulfur is about 5 times that of current lithium-ion batteries, and the production materials required for the former are relatively cheap. Rapid "aging" is a major problem facing lithium-sulfur batteries. However, researchers have been able to make lithium-sulfur obtain more than 2,000 charging cycles, which is "comparable" to the best lithium-ion batteries currently on the market.

    However, the biggest advantage of lithium sulfide batteries is that they can store such a high energy density in a very small and very light battery pack, and this "size" just fits the ultra-thin design of current smartphones.

2. Porous silicon lithium-ion battery

    Researchers at the University of Southern California used microscopic porous silicon spheres as the positive electrode of the battery, which enables fast lithium ion "release" at a low cost. Because of this, it can store more than three times the energy of conventional smartphone batteries and charge in just 10 minutes. Once the charging cycle of porous silicon lithium-ion batteries can be improved, this technology is very suitable for application in the battery field. We expect to see such batteries as early as next year.

3. Magnesium battery

    In addition to lithium-ion batteries, magnesium batteries also have good prospects. The energy density of magnesium batteries is 8-12 times that of lithium-ion batteries, and the charging and discharging efficiency is 5 times that of the latter. This is because magnesium ions carry a double positive charge in the electrolyte solution, which improves the overall energy density and can store electrical energy in a given battery pack of any size. Although there are still some "obstacles" to be cleared in order to realize the application of magnesium batteries, a large number of researchers are now engaged in the research of this technology.

4. Lithium-air battery

    IBM is currently working with researchers, government labs and industry experts to develop a lithium-air battery project called "Project 500". It is reported that this battery can provide electric vehicles with the same driving range as traditional fuel tanks. Not only that, lithium-air batteries can also be well used in the field of mobile phones. The working principle of this battery is simple: when the battery is "discharged", oxygen from the air reacts with lithium ions and forms lithium peroxide in a carbon matrix. When the battery is charged, oxygen returns to the atmosphere and lithium ions return to the battery anode. At present, this technology is still a very distant future project, but recent research in this field has made us see its feasibility.

5. Inspiration from nature: chiton teeth and snail shell peptides

    Chiton teeth are the hardest organic material discovered by humans so far. Researchers in California used them to synthesize a nanocrystal at a very low cost. This material can greatly increase the charging speed of batteries.

    Another study isolated a snail shell peptide, a biomolecule that can generate a lithium nickel manganese oxide that can be used as a high-performance battery anode.

6. Flexible, foldable, and stackable batteries

    In addition to improving energy density and charging times, new battery materials can also be used to optimize the structure of mobile batteries so that they can fit into the design of smartphones. Currently, Samsung and LG have announced their stacked or foldable battery packs, and they are ready for production. Now, it is only a matter of time before such batteries are applied to real devices.