Electric vehicles often rely on batteries containing cobalt, a metal with significant financial, environmental, and social implications.
A recent study revealed that an alternative material, which can be produced at a lower cost than cobalt, demonstrates similar electrical conductivity and storage capacity. Additionally, this new battery can be charged more quickly than cobalt batteries, according to the researchers.
Mircea Dincă, the W.M. Keck Professor of Energy at MIT, expressed optimism about the potential impact of this material due to its competitive performance and potential to reduce costs and environmental impact associated with current battery production.
The study, published in the journal ACS Central Science, was authored by Tianyang Chen Ph.D. ’23, Harish Banda, Jiande Wang, Julius Oppenheim, and Alessandro Franceschi.
Lithium-ion batteries, commonly used in electric cars, typically contain cobalt in the cathode, which contributes to their stability and energy density.
2024-01-22 06:41:03
Original from phys.org