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Novel Battery Design Could Make Electric Vehicles Safer, More Reliable

Japanese researchers have developed a new type of lithium-ion battery that could finally resolve one of the biggest challenges facing electric vehicles: creating energy-dense batteries that don’t pose safety risks. The innovative design combines solid and liquid components in what scientists call a “quasi-solid-state” battery, potentially offering the best of both worlds.

The research team, led by Ryosuke Kido at Doshisha University and TDK Corporation in Japan, demonstrated that their novel battery design maintains high performance while dramatically improving safety compared to conventional lithium-ion batteries. Their findings were published in the Journal of Energy Storage on November 15, 2024.

“Increasing the capacity of positive and negative electrode active materials to achieve higher energy density reduces cycle performance and safety,” explained Kido. “The flame-retardant quasi-solid-state battery we developed, combining a liquid electrolyte and a solid electrolyte, provides a safer and more durable alternative to all-solid-state batteries with high energy density.”

Solving a Persistent Challenge

The breakthrough addresses a fundamental problem that has long plagued battery researchers. While all-solid-state batteries are considered safer than traditional lithium-ion batteries that use liquid electrolytes, they suffer from poor performance due to imperfect contact between solid components. The new design creates what engineers call a “joint interphase” between components, allowing for better ion transfer while maintaining safety.

The researchers achieved this by developing specialized non-flammable electrolyte solutions tailored for each electrode in the battery. These solutions were carefully designed to be compatible with both the electrodes and the solid ceramic separator between them. When tested, prototype batteries demonstrated excellent performance while showing significantly improved safety characteristics.

Promising Safety Results

In rigorous safety testing, the new battery design showed remarkable stability at high temperatures. While conventional batteries began showing dangerous behavior around 110°C, the new design remained stable up to about 140°C. Even more impressively, it resisted short-circuiting up to 400°C – a critical safety improvement over traditional designs.

Looking toward future applications, Kido emphasized the broader implications: “As the world moves toward carbon neutrality, electric vehicles have been gaining significant attention in recent years. It is vital to develop highly safe automotive batteries with extended lifespans. The quasi-solid-state battery from our study has the potential to improve the longevity of liquid-based LIBs and enhance energy density while maintaining the safety of all-solid-state batteries.”

Next Steps

While the results are promising, some challenges remain before the technology can be commercialized. The researchers note that improvements in the rate at which the battery can charge and discharge are still needed, likely requiring the development of thinner solid electrolyte components.

The research was partially supported by Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) through their Advanced Research Program for Energy and Environmental Technologies.

As electric vehicle adoption continues to accelerate globally, innovations like this could help address persistent concerns about battery safety while maintaining the high performance demanded by consumers. The technology could also find applications in other areas requiring safe, high-performance batteries, from consumer electronics to grid storage systems.


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