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Electric cars, what the next generation of batteries will look like

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The batteries of the future will be at the basis of the ever-increasing diffusion of electric mobility as well as determining its autonomy and reliability. In the next few years, in fact, the accumulators of electric will make important progress especially in two areas: the materials that retain energy and the architecture of the batteries. This is how Maximilian Fichtner, professor of solid-state chemistry at the University of Ulm and head of the Energy Storage Systems Department at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology explains it. His vision of the future.

Graphite and silicon, but also a new design

A compound of graphite and silicon could soon replace pure graphite in the anode. Considering that silicon has an energy density ten times higher than graphite, the energy content of the batteries will increase greatly. Furthermore, with the new design of the accumulators it will be possible to insert a greater quantity of cells in a casing of the same size. Actual storage material currently represents 25-30% of the content in a battery pack. The rest is wrapping, packaging and additives. “In this field there will be great progress – explains Fichtner – the next generation of batteries will be designed more efficiently and the storage quota could almost double, thus increasing the energy content as well as reducing production costs”.

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Focus on solid state batteries

In future solid state batteries, the graphite of the negative pole will be replaced with lithium metal, an option that will allow to increase the autonomy from 30 to 40%: for this reason solid state technology is considered a sort of final solution of the research. on the batteries. «It is certainly a great opportunity but there are some open questions, because the industrialization process has not yet begun and the costs will have to be considered – adds Fichtner – the cost curve of today’s lithium-ion batteries is in a declining phase. And after the introduction of sustainable cathode materials such as lithium-iron-phosphate, costs can drop below the level of $ 100 per kWh, which is the limit under which an electric car becomes cheaper than a traditional one. To date we cannot say if solid state batteries will reach the same level and how fast ».

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Autonomy and charging as they will change

The range of electric vehicles will increase dramatically in the near future. «Soon it will be obvious to talk about at least 500 kilometers and start aiming for 1,000. Cars are progressing rapidly, so is the charging infrastructure; we need an adequate network of fast charging stations, ”Fichtner continues, who then underlines the importance of allowing those who live in the city and do not have a wallbox to recharge their cars comfortably. Another aspect on which it is important to work is the standardization of tariffs on the public road network. “The electric car has the best carbon footprint considering all types of propulsion for the passenger car sector, so we need to focus on e-mobility,” Fichtner emphasizes.

The importance of the raw materials used

Cobalt is currently used mainly for cell phone and laptop batteries, but also to produce super fast and sharp steels. “As far as electric mobility is concerned, it is possible and necessary to gradually give up cobalt, both to safeguard human rights and for limited reserves. An excellent alternative is lithium iron phosphate, an inexpensive, sustainably available and non-toxic material. So-called manganese spinel could also be an option, ”explains Fichtner. A final reflection on lithium: «For this material there is still no convincing substitute, but in this case the situation is not so critical, because the global lithium reserves are much greater than those of cobalt. And anyway there are alternatives to the extraction of lithium from salt lakes ».

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