Future of Batteries: Alternatives to Lithium-Ion

[musicious]

The thread about sugar batteries reminded me of an article I read about many types of batteries under development with various benefits that could make a significant impact for different uses.

If there is a breakthrough, which tech do you think would be most successful for EV cars and do you think the Gigawatt factory could be repurposed to produce an alternative to Lithium-Ion?

I'd post links but if you google "New Battery Tech" there are many articles explaining 10+ potential alternatives.

 

[JohnSnowNW]

My personal opinion is that it will be something that hasn't really been announced yet. Lithium-Ion is most likely going to have a cost advantage for a LONG time. To replace Li-Ion you would have to increase capacity by at least 15%, at a comparable price right out of the gate, and a reasonable chance of increasing capacity relatively quickly.

This would of course mean that the technology would have a similar life-span, and similar charging ability (but preferably quicker).

I know of no battery technologies that can meet these requirements...all of them fail at least one of these criteria.

 

[pnd4pnd]

I've been in this industry 30 years. Every year there is a new company touting a new revolutionary battery technology. None of these have come to fruition. As Musk said, "send me a sample and we'll evaluate it". Lot's of research making claims they can't back up. We may be waiting a long time for a breakthrough in batteries....

 

[MrJones390]

Graphene is worth keeping an eye on

WAs Talga Resources hopes to capitalise on graphene boom for batteries - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

 

[Electroman]

two words: 'Solid state' batteries. Will be a decade out, but I think that might be the next 'it' thing.