The latest research and development of a new type of lithium metal battery power is stronger

SolidEnergySystems, a spin-off of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has developed a new type of lithium metal battery, which is not only smaller in size, but also has twice the power supply capacity of the currently widely used lithium-ion battery. According to the company’s founder QichaoHu, the secret of this battery is its thin, high-energy lithium metal foil, which has more ions than the widely used graphite. More ions means greater energy capacity, and the energy density of this battery is twice that of lithium-ion batteries. Moreover, they are also safer and easier to recharge.

QichaoHu said: 'Because the energy density is twice that of lithium-ion batteries, we only need to reduce the battery size by half to reach the current level. We can also use The same size, twice as long as the continuous power supply time. Not only that, SolidEnergy also found a way to directly manufacture this kind of battery through the existing lithium-ion manufacturing machine. That is to say, and most of the so-called battery research breakthroughs In comparison, Hu's new battery technology can be applied to commercial equipment relatively quickly.

The existence of this company in the early days of its establishment has been used by MIT's lithium battery spin-off company. Covered by A123Systems. Not only that, A123Systems filed for bankruptcy in 2012, so even if Hu made a better product, it is difficult to keep investors from being grudges.

Interestingly, the misfortune of A123 allowed Hu to develop products at its abandoned headquarters. One year later, SolidEnergySystems won the first place in the accelerator competition of the MIT Entrepreneurship Competition with a prize of $100,000. (Although actually only got 12,000 US dollars).

He said: 'However, the research and development in the old factory of A123 allows us to use and directly invest in the existing The material of the production line. Starting from the perspective of understanding the actual manufacturing industry, manufacturing realistic batteries enables us to understand which materials can be used in these processes, which in turn helps us design new materials. '