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Could a New Battery Solve Our Energy Problem?

Researchers in the US have made headlines worldwide by developing a new type of battery that charges far faster and holds way more charge than today’s lithium cells (锂电池). It’s not just a terrific technology story, either. The team behind it is led by tech legend Prof John Goodenough of the University of Texas, Austin—the co-inventor of the original lithium-ion battery, and still doing brilliant work at the age of 94.

1． That’s why we’re still using 21^st-Century gadgetry with one eye on battery, wondering if we can get to a charger before our device goes completely dead.

This depressing state of affairs is more than simply inconvenient. If we’re to make the most of renewable energy, we need ways of coping with those times when the wind drops or there’s no sunshine. 2．

Elon Musk, the billionaire boss of electric car company Tesla, certainly thinks so. He’s already created a 20 megawatt battery ‘farm’ in California, and is willing to put his money where his batteries are. 3． For example, one wind farm in Hawaii had three fires in its battery ‘farm’ within a year of opening.

But now Goodenough and his team may have found the answer, by switching from lithium to sodium (钠).

The lithium batteries that made Goodenough’s reputation contain a liquid electrolyte (电解质) which doesn’t respond well to rapid charging. One of Goodenough’s colleagues, Maria Braga, decided that the answer lay in switching to solid electrolytes. The team has now managed to get a solid glass electrolyte to work with sodium, which is similar to lithium but far more common. 4． The battery has triple the charge of its lithium equivalent, it charges in minutes rather than hours, and it has a longer lifespan.

Advances in energy storage are vital if renewable are going to reach their potential. The boundless energy of Goodenough—the Li-ion King himself—may just have found the solution just in time.