Lithium battery technology is difficult to break through, companies are spending money to develop next-generation batteries

According to foreign media reports, there is nothing more suitable for powering smartphones or Teslas than lithium batteries. Since its first introduction in 1991, rechargeable lithium batteries have become everyday technology equipment and electric vehicles. General standards for vehicle power supplies. Data show that most of the more than 3 million electric vehicles in the world are powered by lithium batteries. But as the world moves towards the future power era, we obviously need better technology than lithium batteries to meet the future needs of mankind.

'Lithium battery technology has almost reached its upper limit. If you really want to increase energy density, you must use a completely different technology.' University of Maryland Materials Said Yifei Mo (transliteration), professor of science and engineering. 'Higher energy density means cheaper and lighter batteries, and can last longer on a single charge.'

Fortunately, some battery start-ups are Efforts to develop better battery technology. Their ideal new battery is lower in cost, higher in energy density, and better in performance. It is suitable for industrial, consumer technology products, and electric vehicles with faster charging speeds and longer driving distances.

Starting from this year, several start-ups developing battery technology believe that they have mastered better battery technology than lithium batteries and plan to introduce them to the commercial market.

Gene Berdichevsky, CEO of Sila Nanotechnology, said: 'We spent 8 years and approximately 35,000 times the material I tried to make some commercial results.'

In fact, Sila nanotechnology is only one of several battery start-ups, and they have recently gained a lot of Funds to continue to optimize its battery technology. Last year, the Alameda, California-based company received US$70 million in Series D financing from a number of investors including Siemens Global Ventures to build its first commercial production line of silicon anode cells.

It should be pointed out that Burdychevsky, a mechanical and energy engineer, was Tesla’s seventh employee ten years ago and was responsible for leading the design The battery system of the Tesla Roadster model.

Analysis believes that the lithium battery revolution that is currently emerging has been brewing for about 10 years of research time. Only now are start-ups ready for the commercialization of these new technologies.

Bodychevsky said: 'The materials needed for a car are equivalent to 10,000 smart phones or 1,000 smart watches.' 'We will consume Starting with similar equipment, we will gradually expand cooperation with automotive partners in the next five years.'

BMW has now become one of Sila's automotive partners.

Currently, lithium batteries are subject to various restrictions in terms of material composition and physical energy density. The new battery technology attempts to improve the safety and energy efficiency of lithium batteries, that is, if the battery is overheated or damaged, there is no danger of fire.

A new battery technology is solid-state batteries. This type of battery not only uses lithium metal materials instead of graphite anodes, but also uses a solid piece (usually ceramic, glass or flame retardant). Polymer) instead of liquid electrolyte and diaphragm. In the industry, the first to adopt this method is Solid Power, a solid-state battery manufacturer headquartered in Colorado, and in 2018 received 20 million US dollars in Series A financing.

According to Solid Power executives, the battery they are developing will increase the energy density by at least 50%.

The rather mysterious Stanford University spin-off company Quantumscape is also working with the public to develop a solid-state battery. Last year, Volkswagen increased its holdings of the former by $100 million. PitchBook data shows that this San Jose-based startup is now valued at $1.75 billion.

According to media reports, Quantumscape’s battery will enable Volkswagen’s E-Golf model to travel 466 miles (about 750 kilometers) on a single charge, making it compatible with traditional gasoline The cruising range of powered cars is comparable. According to Volkswagen, Quantumscape's batteries will also be lighter and have faster charging speeds than existing lithium batteries.

However, as a vice president of Nissan said last year, the new generation of solid-state batteries may not be used on a large scale until the next decade. Even in Quantumscape's press release, we see that it puts forward the stated goal of 'commercial production by 2025.'