Lithium-ion batteries are facing some issues due to environmental reasons as well as their risk of catching fire. Researchers have developed a new concept of an aluminium-ion battery which can replace Li-ion batteries.
Under the new concept, anode and cathode are made of aluminium and anthraquinone based organic materials, respectively. In the previous design of aluminium batteries, aluminium was used as anode and graphite used as cathodes.
But now under the new concept, the graphite has been replaced by organic Nano-structures cathode, made from carbon-based molecule anthraquinone. This new concept has twice energy density than the previous version.
Still, it has a long way from being commercially available in the market, but the model addresses critical energy storage issues.
Electronics Guru
While moving towards more environmentally friendly products such as electric vehicles and renewable power generation technologies, demand for lithium batteries is also increasing. The materials in these batteries have their problems with the environment. But the majority of the battery market is still headed by lithium-ion batteries.
The global lithium-ion battery industry size was US$ 33 billion in 2018 and is expected to reach nearly US$ 100 billion by 2025.
There are more developments around battery technologies, which can be threats to lithium-ion batteries. There is a quite huge potential for batteries in the future to power various products from smartphones to electric vehicles.
Battery technology has evolved since its inception, with demand has grown substantially recently. The future of the battery industry looks bright as the researchers and scientists are continuously focusing on manufacturing new eco-friendly battery technology on a large scale.
Aluminium batteries will offer various benefits over traditional lithium-ion batteries as they can be lightweight, safer and resource-rich. The aluminium-based batteries have a low cost of production and do not require the same environmental risk as li-ion batteries. The new design is particularly suitable for large scale power system such as renewable energy power storage.
The aluminium-based battery is not a new concept as the graphite which was used as a cathode, has now been replaced by carbon-based anthraquinone. Aluminium-based batteries are not the only to have a potential for growth, but there are more types such as zinc and lead-based batteries which can capture some market share.