Side by Side Battery Technologies with Lithium‐Ion Based Batteries

In recent years, the electrochemical power sources community has launched massive research programs, conferences, and workshops on the “post Li battery era.” However, in this report it is shown that the quest for post Li‐ion and Li battery technologies is incorrect in its essence. This is the outcome of a three day discussion on the future technologies that could provide an answer to a question that many ask these days: Which are the technologies that can be regarded as alternative to Li‐ion batteries? The answer to this question is a rather surprising one: Li‐ion battery technology will be here for many years to come, and therefore the use of “post Li‐ion” battery technologies would be misleading. However, there are applications with needs for which Li‐ion batteries will not be able to provide complete technological solutions, as well as lower cost and sustainability. In these specific cases, other battery technologies will play a key role. Here, the term “side‐by‐side technologies” is coined alongside a discussion of its meaning. The progress report does not cover the topic of Li‐metal battery technologies, but covers the technologies of sodium‐ion, multivalent, metal–air, and flow batteries

A practical perspective on the potential of rechargeable Mg batteries

Emerging energy storage systems based on abundant and cost-effective materials are key to overcome the global energy and climate crisis of the 21st century. Rechargeable Magnesium Batteries (RMB), based on Earth-abundant magnesium, can provide a cheap and environmentally responsible alternative to the benchmark Li-ion technology, especially for large energy storage applications. Currently, RMB technology is the subject of intense research efforts at laboratory scale. However, these emerging approaches must be placed in a real-world perspective to ensure that they satisfy key technological requirements. In an attempt to bridge the gap between laboratory advancements and industrial development demands, herein, we report the first non-aqueous multilayer RMB pouch cell prototypes and propose a roadmap for a new advanced RMB chemistry. Through this work, we aim to show the great unrealized potential of RMBs.This work was funded by European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the FET Proactive call with grant agreement no 824066 via the “E-MAGIC” project

A practical perspective on the potential of rechargeable Mg batteries

Emerging energy storage systems based on abundant and cost-effective materials are key to overcome the global energy and climate crisis of the 21st century. Rechargeable Magnesium Batteries (RMB), based on Earth-abundant magnesium, can provide a cheap and environmentally responsible alternative to the benchmark Li-ion technology, especially for large energy storage applications. Currently, RMB technology is the subject of intense research efforts at laboratory scale. However, these emerging approaches must be placed in a real-world perspective to ensure that they satisfy key technological requirements. In an attempt to bridge the gap between laboratory advancements and industrial development demands, herein, we report the first non-aqueous multilayer RMB pouch cell prototypes and propose a roadmap for a new advanced RMB chemistry. Through this work, we aim to show the great unrealized potential of RMBs

Recent development in the field of ceramics solid-state electrolytes: I—oxide ceramic solid-state electrolytes

Many elements in the periodic table form ionic compounds; the crystal lattices of such compounds contain cations and anions, which are arranged in the way that these cations and anions form two interpenetrated sub-lattices (cation and anion sub-lattices). Up to now, a number of ionic compounds are known, in which cations or anions are fairly mobile within the corresponding sub-lattice; these compounds are termed as “solid-state electrolytes”. Many solid-state electrolytes with such moveable cations and moveable anions are known to date. Following the footsteps of the established Li-ion battery technology, an interest in the Li+-conducting solid-state electrolytes appears, and all-solid-state lithium battery has started its journey to accompany the reigning counterpart. The valence and ionic radius of ions, the crystal structure, and intrinsic defects of the material are the prime properties of the solid-state electrolytes, which determine the ion mobility in the crystal framework. There are a number of solid-state electrolyte structures that demonstrate high Li+-mobility and high Li+ conductivity (Li+ superconductors) in the range of 10−2 to 10−3 S/cm at room temperature, which is comparable to the ionic conductivity of 1 M LiPF6 (~ 10−2 S/cm), but the conductivity can dwindle highly by up to 5–6 orders of magnitude within the different materials that belonged to the same crystal structure family. Moreover, the surface or interface properties are also crucial factors in tailoring the ionic conductivity of practical polycrystalline solid electrolytes. The interfacial properties and compatibility with electrode materials have a high impact on the performance of electrochemical cells with solid electrolytes. Although the potential window of many solid electrolytes is high enough, there are solid electrolytes which are unstable at low operating potentials while others are not stable towards the cathodes; these features result in the appearance of non-conductive interface layers resulting in a low interfacial charge–transfer kinetics. In this review, we discuss the latest advancements in the field of Li-ion conducting electrolytes from the points of their fundamental properties. The latest achievements in the fields of cell design and improvements of (solid-state electrolytes)/(various anodes) and (solid-state electrolytes)/(various cathodes) compatibilities are considered as well