Professional Documents
Culture Documents
A New Approach To Rechargeable Batteries - MIT News
A New Approach To Rechargeable Batteries - MIT News
A New Approach To Rechargeable Batteries - MIT News
A tpe of atter firt invented nearl five
decade ago could catapult to the
forefront of energ torage technologie,
thank to a new finding reearcher at
MIT.
Illutration modified from an original image
Felice Frankel
A new approach to rechargeale atterie
New metal-meh memrane could olve longtanding prolem and lead to
inexpenive power torage.
David L. Chandler | MIT New Office
Januar 22, 2018 RLATD
A tpe of atter firt invented nearl five decade ago could catapult to the forefront of energ Paper: “Faradaicall elective memrane for
torage technologie, thank to a new finding reearcher at MIT. The atter, aed on liquid metal diplacement atterie”
electrode made of odium and nickel chloride and uing a new tpe of metal meh
memrane, could e ued for grid-cale intallation to make intermittent power ource uch Donald adowa
a wind and olar capale of delivering reliale aeload electricit.
The finding are eing reported toda in the journal Nature nerg, a team led MIT adowa Group
profeor Donald adowa, potdoc Huai Yin and rice Chung, and four other.
Department of Material cience and
Although the aic atter chemitr the team ued, aed on a liquid odium electrode ngineering
material, wa firt decried in 1968, the concept never caught on a a practical approach
ecaue of one ignificant drawack: It required the ue of a thin memrane to eparate it
chool of ngineering
molten component, and the onl known material with the needed propertie for that
memrane wa a rittle and fragile ceramic. Thee paper-thin memrane made the atterie
too eail damaged in real-world operating condition, o apart from a few pecialized
indutrial application, the tem ha never een widel implemented. ARCHIV
ut adowa and hi team took a different approach, realizing that the function of that New method
memrane could intead e performed a peciall coated metal meh, a much tronger
developed for
producing ome
and more flexile material that could tand up to the rigor of ue in indutrial-cale torage
metal
tem.
Douling atter
“I conider thi a reakthrough,” adowa a, ecaue for the firt time in five decade, thi power of conumer
tpe of atter — whoe advantage include cheap, aundant raw material, ver afe electronic
http://news.mit.edu/2018/metal-mesh-membrane-rechargeable-batteries-renewable-energy-0122?utm_source&utm_medium&utm_campaign 1/3
18/02/2018 A new approach to rechargeable batteries | MIT News
operational characteritic, and an ailit to go through man charge-dicharge ccle without New chemitrie
degradation — could finall ecome practical. found for liquid
atterie
While ome companie have continued to make liquid-odium atterie for pecialized ue,
“the cot wa kept high ecaue of the fragilit of the ceramic memrane,” a adowa, A atter made of
the John F. lliott Profeor of Material Chemitr. “Nood’ reall een ale to make that molten metal
proce work,” including G, which pent nearl 10 ear working on the technolog efore
aandoning the project.
MIT nerg Initiative
A adowa and hi team explored variou option for the different component in a molten- awarding $1.65
metal-aed atter, the were urpried the reult of one of their tet uing lead million in eed fund
for innovative earl-
compound. “We opened the cell and found droplet” inide the tet chamer, which “would
tage energ
have to have een droplet of molten lead,” he a. ut intead of acting a a memrane, a
reearch
expected, the compound material “wa acting a an electrode,” activel taking part in the
atter’ electrochemical reaction. New formulation
lead to improved
“That reall opened our ee to a completel different technolog,” he a. The memrane liquid atter
had performed it role — electivel allowing certain molecule to pa through while locking
other — in an entirel different wa, uing it electrical propertie rather than the tpical Re-inventing the grid
mechanical orting aed on the ize of pore in the material.
In the end, after experimenting with variou compound, the team found that an ordinar teel
meh coated with a olution of titanium nitride could perform all the function of the previoul
ued ceramic memrane, ut without the rittlene and fragilit. The reult could make
poile a whole famil of inexpenive and durale material practical for large-cale
rechargeale atterie.
The ue of the new tpe of memrane can e applied to a wide variet of molten-electrode
atter chemitrie, he a, and open up new avenue for atter deign. “The fact that ou
can uild a odium-ulfur tpe of atter, or a odium/nickel-chloride tpe of atter, without
reorting to the ue of fragile, rittle ceramic — that change everthing,” he a.
The work could lead to inexpenive atterie large enough to make intermittent, renewale
power ource practical for grid-cale torage, and the ame underling technolog could
have other application a well, uch a for ome kind of metal production, adowa a.
adowa caution that uch atterie would not e uitale for ome major ue, uch a car
or phone. Their trong point i in large, fixed intallation where cot i paramount, ut ize
and weight are not, uch a utilit-cale load leveling. In thoe application, inexpenive atter
technolog could potentiall enale a much greater percentage of intermittent renewale
energ ource to take the place of aeload, alwa-availale power ource, which are now
dominated foil fuel.
The reearch team included Fei Chen, a viiting cientit from Wuhan Univerit of Technolog;
Nouuki Tanaka, a viiting cientit from the Japan Atomic nerg Agenc; MIT reearch
cientit Takanari Ouchi; and potdoc Huai Yin, rice Chung, and Ji Zhao. The work wa
upported the French oil compan Total .A. through the MIT nerg Initiative.
Indutr Nanocience and nanotechnolog
http://news.mit.edu/2018/metal-mesh-membrane-rechargeable-batteries-renewable-energy-0122?utm_source&utm_medium&utm_campaign 2/3
18/02/2018 A new approach to rechargeable batteries | MIT News
Aout Thi Weite
Thi Weite i maintained the MIT New Office, part of the Office of Communication.
MIT New Office • uilding 11-400
Maachuett Intitute of Technolog • Camridge, MA 02139-4307
http://news.mit.edu/2018/metal-mesh-membrane-rechargeable-batteries-renewable-energy-0122?utm_source&utm_medium&utm_campaign 3/3