Stanford Team Claims to Have Achieved Big Breakthrough in Lithium Battery Design

ClimateWire reported that researchers at Stanford University say they have designed a lithium battery that has “an anode of pure lithium” and “could boost the range of an electric car to 300 miles.” It’s being described as “the ‘holy grail’ of lithium battery design.”

As quoted in the market news:

Until now, however, lithium anodes have been unusable. The material expands during charging, opening fissures on the surface that release lithium ions and form messy, hairlike growths called dendrites that reach out and short-circuit the battery. Lithium anodes are also highly chemically reactive with the lithium electrolyte and can overheat to the point of fire or even explosion.

The potential flammability of lithium-ion batteries has come under scrutiny after three electric cars made by Tesla Motors Inc. crashed and caught fire last year after hitting road debris.

The Stanford team thinks it has solved these problems with a protective layer of tiny carbon domes, called nanospheres, that form a flexible honeycomb-styled shield over the anode. The nanosphere wall, just 20 nanometers thick, is strong and flexible enough to move up and down as the anode expands and contracts during the battery’s charge-discharge cycle.

Click here to read the full ClimateWire report.