Lithium-Ion Batteries Decrease Charge Time under Light

Lithium-ion batteries recharge as twice as fast by exposing cathodes to light. Researchers at Argonne National Laboratory of the US Department of Energy (DOE) have reported that exposing the cathode of a lithium-ion battery to a beam of concentrated light will speed up the charge time. If commercialized, such technology will revolutionize the electric vehicle industry.

lithium-ion batteries recharge as twice as fast by exposing cathodes to light image

Whenever you see the charge level runs low or the location of the closest charging station seems too distant, electric car owners are well aware of EV "Range Anxiety". From zero to full charge, today's electric cars take about eight hours of charge time. For electric vehicles to capture a large segment of the automotive market, fast charging remains a critical challenge.

There are also supercharging stations exist that achieve ultrafast charging of electric vehicles while passing too much current over too short a time degrades battery performance. "We wanted to greatly shorten this charge reaction without damaging the electrodes from the resulting higher current flow," said Christopher Johnson, researcher of Argonne Labs.

EV Range Anxiety image

Currently, lithium-ion batteries for vehicles are housed in a box and charged in a dark state. Argonne Labs uses a transparent container that allows the battery electrodes to receive white concentrated beam when it is being charged.

Johnson said that the cathode materials of lithium-ion cells are LiMn2O4 (LMO). When receiving photons, the manganese element will rise from trivalent to tetravalent, which speeds up the emission of lithium ions from the cathode, allowing the reaction rate of the to be accelerated.

ultra-fast electric car charging station image

The researchers found that the accelerated process resulted in faster charging without degrading the performance of the battery or shortening the cycle life. "Our cell tests showed a factor of two decreases in charging time with the light turned on," Johnson said.

According to Johnson, the finding of speeding up lithium-ion batteries decreases charge time by exposing cathodes to the beam is the first of its kind whereby light and battery technologies are merged, and this intersection bodes well for the future of innovative charging concepts for batteries.

 

 

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