Life span exceeds 1 million miles! Pennsylvania State University develops high-power lithium-ion battery

(Image credit: Pennsylvania State University)

According to foreign media reports, the Battery and Energy Storage Technology (BEST) Center of Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) has developed a lithium-ion battery that is not only safe and powerful, but also has a lifespan of up to 1 million miles.

Typically, electric vehicle batteries require a trade-off between safety and energy density. If the battery has high energy and power density, it will help in driving scenarios such as driving uphill or merging into traffic on the highway, but such batteries will catch fire or explode under inappropriate conditions. However, if the battery has low energy/power density, although the safety will be higher, the performance will often be poor. It is impossible to find materials that can meet the requirements of both safety and energy density. For this reason, battery engineers also pay more attention to battery performance rather than safety.

"In this study, we decided to take a completely different approach, in two steps," said Wang Chaoyang, professor of mechanical, chemical and materials science and engineering and William E. Diefenderfer Chair in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Penn State. "First, we wanted to use highly stable materials to make a highly stable battery."

The second step is to introduce instant heating. About four years ago, Wang developed a self-heating battery to overcome the problem of poor battery performance in cold weather. Such batteries can be heated in a few seconds using electric current, while it takes hours to do so using an external heater. By heating the battery from room temperature to about 140 degrees Fahrenheit (60 degrees Celsius), the battery's chemical reactions are instantly enhanced, and according to the laws of kinetics, the reactivity increases exponentially with increasing temperature. "With these two steps, we can maximize safety when the battery is not in use and achieve high power when the battery is in use," said Wang.

The self-heating battery, called the All Climate battery, has been adopted by several car companies including BMW and is powering a fleet of 10,000 vehicles that will ferry passengers between venues during the Beijing Winter Olympics.

The BEST center tested the battery's safety using a puncture device that drove a nail into the battery, causing a short circuit, and then monitored the battery's temperature and voltage. The temperature difference for the passivated battery was 212 degrees Fahrenheit (100 degrees Celsius), while the temperature difference for standard batteries was 1,832 degrees Fahrenheit (1,000 degrees Celsius), a huge improvement.

Because the battery is made of stable materials, it also has a long cycle life: even when operating at 140 degrees Fahrenheit (60 degrees Celsius), it can last more than 4,000 times, or more than 1 million miles.

The research team's next project is to develop a solid-state battery, which may also require heating.

Tesla has also announced the launch of a battery with a lifespan of over 1 million miles . It seems that electric vehicles will be more widely used soon. So, are you willing to buy an electric car equipped with such a battery? Welcome to leave a message to discuss.