EV sceptics frequently point to the unholy trinity of infrastructure, range and price as reasons why electrification is not a satisfactory forward-facing transport solution. However, researchers at MIT may have found a solution to the charging conundrum. In a paper published by MIT's (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Donald Sadoway (along with 15 other authors from Peking University, Yunnan University, Wuhan University of Technology, University of Louisville, University of Waterloo and Argonne National Laboratory), the Materials Chemistry Professor claims to have found a cheap solution to expensive lithium-ion batteries. Using the second-most commercially available and most Earth-abundant metal, aluminium, and the cheapest available non-metal, sulphur, as the battery's other electrode and a molten salt electrolyte. While the battery's composition prioritises cost-efficiency and easily obtainable resources, Professor Donald Sadoway cites several additional advantages - "the ingredients are cheap, and the thing is safe - it cannot burn." The aluminium-sulphur battery still prizes heat, however. Studies showed that the unit actually charged 25 times faster at 110 degrees Celsius (230 degrees Fahrenheit) compared to 25 C (77 F). What's more, the battery generates heat during both charging and discharging periods. This allows it to maintain an optimal operating temperature while keeping the salt solution from freezing.
In yet another apparent breakthrough in battery technology, scientists from MIT have invented a new approach to the storage of power generated by solar panels and other kinds of renewable green energy for when the weather isn't cooperating - a relatively inexpensive aluminium-sulphur alternative to the use of lithium-ion in home storage batteries. Aluminium is the second most plentiful metal on the planet, after iron. It is also cheap - sulphur is the least costly non-metal element and is also abundant. The entire battery can be made for about a sixth of the cost of its lithium equivalent- and it cannot burn. The battery is additionally ideal for use at electric vehicle charging stations as well as powering homes and small or medium-sized businesses. Full charge is reached in less than one minute.
A recent J.D.Power survey reports that the growth of electric vehicle (EV) sales during the past year in the USA has been remarkable, but that it has added stress to an already beleaguered public vehicle charging infrastructure. Owners in high EV volume markets like California, Texas and Washington, for instance, are finding the charging infrastructure inadequate and plagued with non-functioning stations - this is despite there being more public charging stations in operation than ever before. The shortage of public charging availability is said to be the number one reason vehicle shoppers reject EVs.
In recent years, many so-called experts and analysts have stood up at conferences or published Op-Ed pieces and papers explaining that because there will never be any new battery chemistry or architecture to deal with the crippling issue of renewable energy storage, the bright new, clean, green future being promised is doomed to die in darkness. Well, tell that to a certain Mr. Matti Ulvinen, product sales manager at Polar Night Energy, a small six-person start-up in Finland. The company has developed the world's first commercially operated sand battery. Yes, you read that right, good old basic low-grade sand! Successful neighbourhood heat storage trials near Helsinki have proven that sand can be heated to 500 degrees C (compared to 100 C for water) and that it retains the generated heat in a closed loop system without significant loss for months on end. Unlike water, it does not evaporate or turn to steam and can therefore be released locally as demand requires, rather than needing to be used immediately.
Sources: AMD, IDN, FT, Reuters, PSB, MPN, BDN, MCN, AP, Bloomberg, MSNW, Electrek, electricmotorcycles.news, RideApart.com, Motor1.com, Cycle World, motorbikewriter.com
