[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/9548\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ESalt and a battery \u2013 smashing the limits of power storage\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EWe have all been there. The rectangular icon in the top right-hand corner of the screen turns red and flashes to indicate you\u2019re almost out of battery. But the problems with batteries go far beyond this kind of minor inconvenience. Batteries are a crucial part of our green energy future but also an imperfect one.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EIn future, a large portion of our energy will come from renewable sources such as solar and wind. But there are times when the wind does not blow and the sun does not shine. To even out supply, we need to store the surplus electricity generated by renewables, until we are ready to consume it. One important means of doing so is with better batteries. We also need huge numbers of batteries if we are to power the envisioned fleets of electric cars and mobility devices.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe trouble is, even the best batteries have problems. One big sticking point is that lithium-ion cells use lithium as a key component. This is mined as salt. Europe does not presently have any large reserves, so relies on imports from only a small number of places, such as Australia and Chile. Lithium batteries are also expensive, have a limited storage capacity, and lose performance after repeated charging.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EIf we are to make them better, first we need to understand how they work. Traditional lithium-ion batteries have three key components. There are two solid components called electrodes \u2013 the anode and the cathode \u2013 and a liquid called the electrolyte. When the battery discharges, electrons stream out of the anode to the cathode to power whatever device it\u2019s connected to. Positive lithium ions diffuse through the electrolyte, attracted to the negative charge of the cathode. When the battery is being charged up, this goes in reverse.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEnergy density\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe whole process is a reversible electrochemical reaction. There are many flavours of this basic process with different kinds of chemicals and ions involved. A particular option being explored by the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/id\/875029\u0022\u003EASTRABAT project\u003C\/a\u003E is to do away with the liquid electrolyte and make it a solid or gel instead. In theory, these solid-state batteries have a higher energy density, meaning they can power devices for longer. They should also be safer and quicker to manufacture, since, unlike typical lithium-ion batteries, they don\u2019t use a flammable liquid electrolyte.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003EWe need to continue to invest in research to validate the next generation of batteries.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EDr Sophie Mailley, ASTRABAT\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EElectrochemist Dr Sophie Mailley at the Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies Commission (CEA) in Grenoble, France, is the ASTRABAT project coordinator. She explains that lithium-based solid-state batteries do already exist. But such batteries use a gel as the electrolyte and only work well at temperatures of about 60 C, meaning they are unsuitable for many applications. \u2018It\u2019s clear that we need to innovate in this area to be able to face the problems of climate change,\u2019 said Dr Mailley.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EShe and her team of partners have been working on perfecting a recipe for a better solid-state lithium battery. The job involves looking at all sorts of candidate components for the battery and working out which ones work best together. Dr Mailley says they have now identified suitable components and are working out ways to scale up manufacturing of the batteries.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EOne question she and her team plan to investigate next is, whether it will be easier to recycle lithium and other elements from solid-state batteries compared to typical lithium-ion batteries. If it is, that could increase the recycling of lithium and to reduce dependence on imports.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EDr Mailley estimates that if the research goes well, solid-state lithium batteries like the one ASTRABAT is working on could be entering commercial use in electric cars by about 2030. \u2018I don\u2019t know if it is these solid-state batteries that will be the next important battery innovation,\u2019 said Dr Mailley. \u2018There are a lot of other possible solutions, like using manganese or sodium (instead of lithium). Those might work out. But we need to continue to invest in research to validate the next generation of batteries,\u2019 she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPositively charged\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen it comes to storing energy for the purposes of smoothing out supply to electricity grids, batteries need be reliable and high capacity, which means expensive. Scarce lithium isn\u2019t the best choice. Instead, the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/id\/875613\u0022\u003EHIGREEW project\u003C\/a\u003E is investigating another different kind of battery, known as a redox flow cell.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe main components of redox flow batteries are two liquids, one positively charged, one negatively charged. When the battery is in use, these are pumped into a chamber known as a cell stack, where they are separated by a permeable membrane and exchange electrons \u2013 creating a current.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe project\u2019s co-ordinator is chemist Dr Eduardo Sanchez at CIC energiGUNE, a research centre near Bilbao in Spain. He explains that plenty of large-scale redox flow batteries are already in operation around the world and they are designed to be stable, lasting about 20 years. But these existing batteries use vanadium dissolved in sulfuric acid, which is a toxic and corrosive process. Safety requirements mean these batteries must be manufactured at great expense.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003EI would say we have a bloom here in Europe, with a lot of companies working on flow batteries.\r\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EDr Eduardo Sanchez, HIGREEW\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Vanadium has lots of strengths \u2013 it\u2019s cheap and stable,\u2019 said Dr Sanchez. \u2018But if you have a leak from one of these batteries, that\u2019s not nice. You must design the tanks to be extremely durable.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ELess toxic\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe HIGREEW project is planning to create a redox flow battery that uses far less toxic materials such as salt solutions in water which stores carbon-based ions.\u0026nbsp; Sanchez and his team of colleagues have been working on developing the best recipe for this battery, screening many different combinations of salts and chemical solutions. They have now come up with a shortlist of a few prototypes that perform well and are working on scaling these up.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EWork on one huge prototype battery is ongoing at the CIC energiGUNE centre. \u2018We have to ensure that they maintain their good performance at scale,\u2019 said Dr Sanchez.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EHis team have also been investigating a method of dipping commercially available battery membrane materials so as to chemically alter them, making them last longer.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EDr Sanchez sees a bright future for redox flow batteries. \u2018I would say we have a bloom here in Europe, with a lot of companies working on flow batteries.\u2019 He predicts that manufacturing redox flow batteries could bring abundant employment opportunities to Europe in the coming years.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Ch5\u003EResearch in this article was funded by the EU. 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