Anxiety of the range of electric vehicles? Researchers are developing a new battery that could be a remedy – San Diego Union -Tribune

By Ashley Miznazi, Miami Herald

They call it anxiety, the fear that an electric vehicle may lack juice, says somewhere south of Yeehaw Junction on the road to Disney World with three grumpy children on board.

Such scenarios are one of the big hesitations for many people who think about the purchase of an EV.

Research underway at Florida International University could greatly contribute to healing this concern. The work is focused on a new type of battery, made of lithium-soufur, which could potentially triple the range of an electric vehicle and also be cheaper, lighter and better for the environment.

But lithium-sulfur batteries have long have fatal faults: they do not recharge well and do not lose their juice after a year or two. Now, Professor Bilal El-Zahab, who heads the CRF cutting-edge battery laboratory, and a team of researchers has developed a promising breakthrough in the composition of the detailed battery in a recent scientific review article.

“We have been working on this solution for at least ten years,” said El-Zahab “”This battery will certainly last more time than a typical battery. »»

Although it is probably still years from commercial development, he estimated that the change in the chemistry of the CRF battery could take a range of electric vehicles of 300 miles at around 1000. This would certainly eliminate all the anxiety of reach during long journeys and potentially transform the EV battery industry of several billion dollars. For many everyday commuters, for example, such improved performance could make the difference in the load every two weeks or every week, instead of each week, said El-Zahab.

Without trying to explain the complicated chemistry that operates the batteries, the FIU team found that adding a metal catalyst, Platinum, has made lithium-soft for more load cycles. El-Zahab said to think about the power flowing through the battery tracks like a five-way highway which suddenly slows down an open track.

“So the probability of accidents, probability of losses, likely to happen, increases,” he said. “So, what does Platinum do? He acts as a traffic agent. It enters and guides people where to go and help open more ways,” said El-Zahab.

The work was carried out in the FIU battery laboratory – filled with indicators, buzzing fans, air bicycle pumps, temperature controllers and other equipment – has everything necessary to make batteries from zero. Researchers use large black neoprene gloves that are looking for something about a science fiction film to work in oxygen and moisture-free rooms to assemble the batteries. They start by making a small battery, the size of an Airtag, and evolve their experimental versions from there.

Weighs and costs less

Since the early 90s, the battery of choice to supply everything, from our phones to satellites and electric vehicles has been lithium-ion. But lithium-ion, said El-Zahab, is a “theoretical capacity”, which means that they cannot produce so much energy-at least not without considerably increasing the price.

El-Zahab says that there are many other advantages for lithium-sulfur.

Today, EV cars should travel at least 200,000 miles and a typical EV vehicle may need a replacement battery to go to the cars. The lithium-sulfur battery would eliminate the need for a replacement battery, which creates less waste in the environment. Although gas car batteries are generally recycled, solid packs use electric vehicles require special dismantling and could explode if they are poorly made. This does not mean that they will end up on the discharge, but many are waiting for a recycling date.

Lithium-Soufur also offers another option-a much smaller battery that would improve the safety of the car and cost, said El-Zahab. Sulfur batteries in the FIU battery laboratory can be made two to three times lighter than ionic batteries, he said.