Created a battery for an electric car that is not afraid of frost

Worries about electric vehicles running in cold weatherweather may soon be a thing of the past thanks to a breakthrough in battery chemistry. So, engineers have developed a new electrolyte that overcomes the limitations of existing lithium-ion batteries at sub-zero temperatures.

In existing batteries, liquid electrolyte,responsible for the transfer of charge between the electrodes freezes in extremely cold conditions, reducing the charging efficiency of electric vehicles. However, the fluorine-containing electrolyte developed by the team showed exceptional performance even at temperatures of minus -20 degrees Celsius.

This discovery opens up great prospects forelectric vehicles; and energy storage systems for power grids and consumer electronics. By selecting the atomic structure of the solvents, the researchers achieved a composition that demonstrates the lowest energy barrier to the release of lithium ions from solvent clusters at low temperatures. The new electrolyte maintained a stable energy storage capacity for 400 charge-discharge cycles at sub-zero temperatures. It still doesn't ignite.

The group is currently in the process of patentingof its low temperature and safer electrolyte, as well as looking for an industrial partner to integrate it into lithium-ion battery designs.

Source: anl