The graphene aluminium-ion battery cells from Brisbane’s Graphene Manufacturing Group (GMG) charge 60 times faster than the best lithium-ion cells and store three times the energy of the best aluminium-based cells. Also, read short term courses after electrical engineering here.
They are also safer to use as there is no upper Ampere limit to induce spontaneous overheating, and they are more sustainable and recyclable due to their stable base materials. The coin-cell validation batteries also last three times longer than lithium-ion ones, according to testing.
The battery cells consume nanotechnology to put aluminium atoms inside microscopic perforations in graphene planes, made on the breakthrough technology from the University of Queensland’s (UQ) Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology.
While GMG’s cells were not the only graphene aluminium-ion cells in development, Managing Director Craig Nicol asserted that they were the strongest, most reliable, and fastest charging. “It charges at such a rapid rate that it’s almost a supercapacitor,” Nicol asserted. “It takes less than 10 seconds to charge a coin cell.”
The new battery cells give significantly more power density than conventional lithium-ion batteries while also avoiding the cooling, heating, and rare-earth issues that plague them.
“There have been no temperature issues thus yet.” Cooling accounts for 20% of the cost of a lithium-ion battery pack (in a car). “There’s a good chance we won’t need that much cooling or heating,” Nicol asserted.
- It does not overheat, and it has performed admirably below zero in testing.
- They don’t need cooling or heating circuits, which account for around 80kg in a 100kWh pack.
- It’s a direct replacement that charges at such a rapid rate that it’s effectively a supercapacitor.
- Some lithium-ion cells can only handle 1.5-2 amps; otherwise, the battery will blow up, but our technology has no theoretical limit.
- It’s a direct replacement that changes so fast it’s virtually a supercapacitor,” says one developer of aluminium-ion battery cells for automotive applications.
- “Some lithium-ion cells can only handle 1.5-2 amps; otherwise, the battery will blow up, but our technology has no theoretical limit.”
- Aluminium-ion battery cells are a hotbed of research and development, especially for automotive applications.
Stanford’s natural graphite aluminium-ion technology produces 68.7 Watt-hours per kilogram and 41.2 Watts per kilogram, respectively, while its graphite-foam technique produces 3000 Watts per kilogram. The GMG-UQ battery pushes it to 150 to 160 Wh/kg and 7000 W/kg.
“They (UQ) discovered a method for creating holes in graphene and storing aluminium atoms closer together in the holes.” Aluminium ions return to the negative electrode when a cell is recharged, and they can exchange three electrons per ion instead of the one that Lithium can.
Conclusion
Because aluminum-ion cells employ few exotic elements, they have significant geopolitical, cost, environmental, and recycling advantages. Another advantage would be the cost. Lithium prices have climbed from US$1460 per metric tonne in 2005 to US$13,000 per metric tonne this week, while aluminum prices have risen from US$1730 to US$2078 in the same period. Another benefit is that the GMG graphene aluminum-ion cells do not need copper, which is expensive at roughly US$8470 per tonne. Check out battery technology courses online.