MIT’s “home” battery surprises everyone: it costs a sixth of lithium batteries and is fireproof

It can be made almost at home, due to the easy availability of ingredients, new battery Developed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) based Aluminum, sulfur and salt who surprised to Great performance and benefits Compared to colleagues who use an increased cost lithiumby the way Prone to explosions and fires In case of damage or improper use.

The team of engineers at the American University searched for an inexpensive alternative, and found it in use Aluminum and sulfur for the electrodes and the molten salt electrolyte between them; conducted by the magazine temper natureDonald Sadoway of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the professor who leads the team, said: “We wanted to create something better, and much better, than lithium-ion batteries for stationary storage on a small scale, and eventually [usi] the cars “.

Project started Take the periodic table in hand and search for the most common chemical element: After excluding iron Sadoway concentrated on aluminum and his choice of the first electrode. At that point sulfur was the most abundant of the non-metals, so the second electrode was arranged as well. And what about the electrolyte? “We wouldn’t use volatile and flammable organic liquids.” The teacher said, explaining that he, along with the rest of the team, experimented with different polymers and then moved on to some Soluble salts with relatively low melting points, near boiling water, rather than nearly 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit of many salts. “Once close to body temperature is reached, it becomes practical to make batteries that do not require special insulation and anti-corrosion measures. “

At this point the team found itself in hand Ultra-low cost (1/6 of a lithium-ion equivalent) battery and no fire hazard, but it still has to prove its true value in practical use. In subsequent tests, cells were shown Holds hundreds of cycles at exceptionally high charge rates; The charging speed is highly dependent on the working temperature, The warmer the battery, the less time it takes to recharge. In particular at 110 °C the velocity was 25 times higher than at 25 °C.

The charging and discharging processes are naturally concerned with keeping the cells warm, so it is not necessary to supply them from the outside.

sorbet on the cake, chlorine aluminate salt Selected by the team as electrolyte Stops the formation of dendrites in the budare thin metal terminals that accumulate on an electrode and eventually expand to contact the other electrode, reducing cell efficiency at best, and igniting a fire at worst.

“We experienced very fast reload speeds, charged in less than a minute, and never lost cells due to dendrite shortening.” Sadway commented.

New technology is already one foundation A new company called AvantiWhich patents are licensed for the system “The company’s first agenda is to prove that the battery works at scale.”Sadoway says, “…Then subject it to a series of voltage tests, including running hundreds of charge cycles.”