A breakthrough rechargeable proton battery has been invented in Australia. It is not dependent on lithium, so it will not be limited by the need for this resource that’s often scarce as demand increases.
The new battery uses water and carbon instead of lithium. It could potentially be a lead competitor to lithium-powered batteries in upcoming devices like electric cars and homes. Researchers are combining two things together: protons from water and electrons from a carbon-based material. These batteries produce no carbon emissions. That means they are good for the environment and they can also store electricity from renewable sources such as PV.
RMIT’s researchers predict that this new battery will be commercially available in about five-ten years.
“Our battery is a critical step in creating cheap, sustainable proton batteries that will help address our future energy needs without further harming our already vulnerable environment,” Andrews said.
“The proton battery has the potential to be more economical than using lithium, which is a scarce resource. Carbon on the other hand, which is the main raw material in our proton battery, is abundant and cheaper,” he added.
More experiments have shown that proton batteries with an internal surface area of 5.5 square centimetres can store as much energy per unit mass as standard lithium-ion batteries. With the appropriate improvements, a proton battery will be able to go on for even longer.
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Author: PC-GR
The World of Technology
