Jakarta –
Battery technology that can increase range while reducing charging time for electric vehicles (EVs) will soon be adopted by many cars. By swapping the graphite in the anode of an EV’s negatively charged lithium ion battery with silicon, that ambition isn’t just a pipe dream.
Recently, Panasonic announced a collaboration with Sila Nanotechnologies, creators of silicon anodes, to combine the technology with its batteries that will be produced in 2024.
Quoted from Live Sciencethere will be more than 14 million electric vehicles sold in 2023 and it is predicted that their popularity will continue to rise in the following years.
Until recently, electric vehicles used high-performance lithium ion batteries. Even though battery quality continues to be improved every day, there are several things that are still limited, such as issues of usability and comfort.
“The ability of a battery to store energy in relation to its size and weight is referred to as energy density. This is a key factor for electric vehicles, as it has implications for the distance that can be achieved on a single charge. Another crucial aspect is power density, which refers to how fast a the battery supplies the energy,” said Azin Fahimi, chief scientific officer at Sienza Energy AS.
So why does this new silicon anode have such a dramatic impact on range and charging time?
Batteries rely on the movement of charged ion particles between electrodes or two electrical conductors. During charging, lithium ions move from the positive electrode (cathode), through the electrolyte, to the negative electrode (anode), where they are stored.
“When the battery provides power to a device, the lithium ions will move back from the anode to the cathode. The movement of these ions makes electrons flow through the external circuit, providing an electric current that powers the device,” said Fahimi.
Because the ions are stored in the anode until they are needed to power the car, the anode material plays an important role in battery performance.
“A good anode material must have a high lithium storage capacity to ensure high energy density, good electrical conductivity to facilitate efficient electron flow, and fast ion transport for fast charging capabilities,” said Fahmi.
Fahimi also added that the anode must also have a stable structure so that its volume does not change, while ions flow in and out which can damage the surface.
Previously, lithium ion batteries used graphite anodes. The layered structure is able to allow ions to move in and out of the anode without changing much volume. However, silicon is capable of storing more than ten times the energy per gram.
“With this large capacity, silicon is able to store more lithium ions as a result of its higher energy density for the battery. Higher energy density means a longer EV range on a single charge,” said Fahimi.
Unfortunately, silicon swells 3-4 times its original size when filled with lithium ions, this refers to mechanical stress as well as degradation of the anode material.
Thus, careful nanoscale design of silicon anodes is important to note. In the future, the team from Fahimi di Sienza together with the Sila team will work to solve this problem.
*This article was written by Khalisha Fitri, a participant in the Merdeka Campus Certified Internship Program at detikcom.
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2024-01-01 00:50:58
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