Scientists blast through battery world record in major hope for breakthrough new technology

Scientists have broken through a battery world record and could be on their way to entirely new kinds of batteries.

The breakthrough could finally allow for the production and widespread use of solid-state batteries. The technology is seen as a key technology of the future – since they have more capacity than existing lithium-ion batteries, which are also flammable – and could one day be used to power electric cars and other technologies.

But solid-state batteries yet to receive widespread adoption and production because of a range of difficulties with manufacturing and using the batteries.

Now researchers say that a new material could help solve some of those problems and could be a move towards actually introducing the batteries.

The researchers built a new material out of lithium that is 30 per cent faster than all previously known substances. The material – made of lithium, antimony and scandium – not only set the record but could lead to the development of other practical applications.

“We believe that our discovery could have broader implications for enhancing conductivity in a wide range of other materials,” said Jingwen Jiang, an author on the paper describing the findings. The same principles that led to the development of the new batteries could also be applied to other breakthroughs, the researchers suggest.

“By incorporating small amounts of scandium, we have uncovered a new principle that could prove to be a blueprint for other elemental combinations,” said Hubert Gasteiger, from the Technical University of Munich. “While many tests are still needed before the material can be used in battery cells, we are optimistic.”

The breakthrough is reported in a new paper, ‘Scandium Induced Structural Disorder and Vacancy Engineering in Li3Sb – Superior Ionic Conductivity in Li3−3xScxSbv’, published in the journal Advanced Energy Materials.