IBM Has Developed A New Battery That's Better, Safer Than Lithium-Ion

Every vehicle we know that traditionally run on fossil fuels is going electric, including cars, trucks, and even airplanes. That trend results in a rising demand for batteries, which may continue to increase in the coming years, but the sources of materials for making them are not limitless.

With that in mind, IBM Research scientists have created a new battery consisting of unique ingredients that they can extract from seawater rather than mining.

Currently, manufacturers are relying on technologies like lithium-ion to make batteries for electric devices and devices, which has problems but we tend to ignore them because they allow our smartphones to last all day. Besides lithium, such technologies involve the use of metals such as nickel, manganese, and cobalt, which must be mined, causing damages to the environment and miners. Moreover, these metals will run out someday, if not soon, especially when more and more vehicles and devices are switching to battery power.

The scientists came up with a potential solution, in which they developed a new design replacing metals used in the cathode while using a new liquid electrolyte with a high flash point. By combining the electrolyte and new cathode materials, the research team also found that the new battery could create fewer lithium dendrites, the spiky structures usually seen in lithium-ion batteries that can result in short circuits.

That means the new battery not only has less influence on the environment but it’s also much safer for use with a much lower risk of explosions or fire.

However, the IBM research team wants to go even further with this battery. They believe that it will offer more capacity than the current lithium-ion battery, allowing 80% recharge within five minutes. The new battery is also believed to be more energy-efficient and cheaper to make, which will help lower the cost of electric vehicles and devices.

These are estimations made based on the performance of the battery in the lab, but the research center is also working with companies like Mercedes-Benze R&D for further exploration into this technology, so it may take another few years for the battery to actually come to life.