A US research team led by Professor John Goodenough has developed the first all-solid-state battery cell, which they claim has three times the energy density as conventional lithium-ion batteries.
Goodenough, the 94-year-old co-inventor of the lithium-ion battery, has worked with a team of engineers from the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin.
He said the battery is noncombustible, has a long cycle life, offers low-cost, and high energy density with fast rates of charge and discharge.
“We believe our discovery solves many of the problems that are inherent in today’s batteries,” Goodenough added.
The result of research has been published in the journal Energy & Environmental Science.
The use of an alkali-metal anode, sodium, which can be extracted from seawater with low costs, has been proved to increase the battery cycle life to more than 1,200 cycles with low cell resistance in one research test.
Instead of liquid electrolytes, the researchers used glass electrolytes to avoid the formation of dendrites.
The researchers demonstrated the solid-glass electrolytes have high conductivity at -20°C and is capable of operating under 60°C.
The university website said, the new technology could help to extend electric vehicles’ driving time between recharges because of the higher energy density and the rate of recharge of a few minutes.
The new technology has now been patented through the UT Austin Office of Technology Commercialization. The team is looking for opportunities of working with battery makers to test the invention in electric vehicles and energy storage.