Electric vehicle (EV) makers are constantly looking for ways to improve battery life to deliver more reliable batteries that can power EVs more efficiently for a longer distance. To date, battery manufacturers have relied heavily on lithium producers to supply the minerals needed to power their products. However, the rising demand for lithium and the finite supply of the mineral mean that battery makers are looking for alternative options and aiming to recycle more batteries. They are also investing heavily in research and development to improve the performance and lifecycle of their batteries. This will help improve efficiency in EVs and utility-scale battery storage.
Some companies are searching for alternatives to lithium-powered batteries as they require massive amounts of water and energy to produce, and are difficult to recycle. The Australian company Nation Energie, a joint venture between Faradion and ICM Investments, is exploring the potential of sodium-powered batteries, which it believes could be more sustainable. The company installed the first Faradion sodium-ion battery at a site in Yarra Valley in New South Wales in 2022 to trial the technology.
James Quinn, the CEO of U.K.-based Faradion, stated, “Sodium is a much more sustainable source for batteries [than lithium].; Quinn added, “It’s widely available around the world, meaning it's cheaper to source, and less water-intensive to extract… It takes 682 times more water to extract one tonne of lithium versus one tonne of sodium. That is a significant amount.”
Another alternative is lithium-sulphur batteries, which use sulphur rather than rare earths, such as nickel, manganese and cobalt, in their cathode. There are more abundant quantities of sulphur in the Earth’s crust and it is also a by-product of natural gas processing and oil refining, meaning it is easier to access than rare earths, which makes lithium-sulphur batteries more sustainable.
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While many firms are investing in alternative battery technology, other companies are looking to optimise their lithium-ion batteries. Some EV makers are exploring solid-state battery technology, while others are researching the potential for silicon anodes in batteries.
Solid-state batteries use solid electrolytes rather than the liquid or aqueous electrolytes used in conventional batteries. The two most common types of solid electrolytes are inorganic solid electrolytes (oxides and sulphides) and solid polymers (polymer salts, or gel polymers). Solid-state batteries are growing increasingly popular as they have a lower risk of flammability, a higher energy density, and a faster charging cycle. However, they do cost more to produce than sodium batteries.
Many industry experts believe an ideal solid electrolyte still needs to be found to effectively power the battery. However, Colorado-based Solid Power has created a sulphide electrolyte-based battery that it says has between a 50 and 100 percent higher energy density than conventional lithium-ion batteries. The company aims to provide solid-state batteries for 800,000 EVs annually by 2028.
Japan’s Toyota and Nissan are both funding research and development into solid-state batteries, which they hope will improve the performance of their EVs in the coming years. Toyota hopes to launch the mass production of solid-state batteries between 2027 and 2028, and Nissan aims to use the technology in its EVs by 2029. Meanwhile, Mercedes, Porsche, and GM are all investing in silicon anode technology to improve the power and charging capabilities of their batteries.
A report from May by the consultancy IDTechEx described the potential for advanced silicon anode materials as “immense” for improving critical areas of battery performance. However, several barriers stand in the way of a commercial rollout of the technology, including cycle life, shelf life, and cost. Silicon anode appears to be overtaking solid-state battery technology at present largely thanks to several technological breakthroughs in the last few years, but neither one is ready for use on a commercial scale yet.
Silicon anode batteries had a shelf life of just one year a few years ago, but battery producers believe they have increased this to between three and four years today. Experts suggest that silicon anodes may be able to provide 10 times the energy density as graphite, which is commonly used in battery anodes. However, these same materials can suffer from faster degradation when more silicon is used.
Georgi Georgiev, a battery raw materials analyst at the consultancy Fastmarkets, explained, “Especially in the West, advances in the area of silicon anodes [are] seen as a strategic opportunity to catch up with China, which dominates the graphite-based anode supply chains with Chinese anode producers holding 98% of the global anode market for batteries.” Georgiev added, “However, there are significant technical challenges going to 100 percent silicon anode such as silicon expansion affecting the longevity of the batteries and currently there are several routes to produce silicon anodes.”
EV and battery makers are investing heavily in research and development into battery technology, both in developing alternative battery materials and improving performance. This is expected to spur innovations in the coming years, to improve the performance of EV and utility-scale batteries. However, it is unclear at present which battery technology will reign supreme.
By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com