Cambridge University Researchers Make Lithium-Air Battery Breakthrough

With the growing need to move to electric cars and design computers, smartphones, and other devices that have more efficient batteries, lots of research is being performed into next generation batteries. A group of researchers from Cambridge University has released a paper that shows a lab model for a lithium-air battery that has solved some of the major problems associated with the technology.

The lithium-air battery that they designed had a high energy density and could be recharged more than 2,000 times. The researchers say that the battery is theoretically over 90% efficient in energy use. The big benefit of a lithium-air battery in an electric car is that they would be much lighter than batteries used in cars today.

Less weight in an EV means longer driving distances and improved efficiency. Lithium-air batteries are also expected to have a higher energy density so they would store more power than current lithium-ion tech.

While this announcement is certainly exciting and shows a bright future for lithium-air tech, the researchers say that a commercially viable lithium-air battery is still a decade away. The new research shows that some of the major hurdles to creating the new battery tech can be overcome. One challenge remaining is that the battery can currently only cycle in a pure oxygen environment so it couldn't charge in room air.

SOURCE: ArsTechnica