Days counted for lithium? The alternative that would democratize electric cars

The calcium batteries can constitute a real solution to improve the industrialization and manufacturing costs of the batteries of the electric cars. And lithium batteries are a problem for the future of large-scale industrial development of electric cars.

According to a publication of EconomíaDigital.es, there is no doubt that lithium batteries have their day numbered. At least in the liquid state as we know them: solid batteries are a solution that brings many improvements in terms of autonomy or durability, but does not solve a serious problem: the difficulty and the cost large scale obtaining and industrialization of lithium.

At least as it is used today: the search for new materials and new technologies for batteries is the key to the success of the electric car.

What materials will be used?

The article in the postulates of the Spanish press that in 20 years, more than half of the light vehicles sold in the world will be electric. It is about 60 million cars and the battery sector will be strategic and of importance that we can not even imagine today.

Lithium is an interesting material, but there are alternatives that may be more interesting, especially in areas where lithium is not abundant. For example, in Europe.

Here are some solutions

Several materials are being considered to replace lithium in the batteries of electric cars, but to date, it seems that there are two really interesting solutions.

Carbon (graphene) is a possible solution, the other sodium, which is already tested in such prestigious entities as Stanford University, which has already created a sodium battery. able to reduce costs by 80% according to its creators.

Major builders collaborate with public entities to find the most optimal material

But today we need to talk about calcium batteries. A team of researchers from the Institute of Materials Sciences of Barcelona (ICMAB), with the collaboration of Toyota, got a few months ago the electrochemical extraction of calcium from a metal oxide, in the occurrence cobalt, using this oxide as a cathode in calcium batteries.

This study provides the solution to one of the major problems of calcium batteries: find cathodes capable of extracting and incorporating calcium ions reversibly, according to Maria Rosa Paladin, responsible of the study.

by the batteries of calcium

The University of Córdoba, with Marta Cabello at the front, also studies the use of calcium for the development of more efficient batteries. In this case, it uses molybdenum as the oxide for the cathodes of the battery and produces the exchange of ions and electrons for the generation of electrical energy.

The goal of all these studies is to ensure that the battery can be recharged effectively. reliable and for that, they test different materials so that the calcium is compatible with the electrolytic solution.

In summary: calcium batteries can be a real solution for the post-lithium era in the batteries of electric cars. as well as any other electronic device.

There is no doubt that many brands and researchers are working in this area, so I have no doubt that great progress will be made in this area.

Will it be calcium? Will it be sodium? And what about graphene? Without a doubt, three factors are decisive for the success of one or the other technology: the first will be the availability and industrialization of the raw material used. The second, the storage capacity of energy and the third, the reliability and the duration of the batteries.

What technology will be successful in the end? I think that in a decade or so we will have a pretty solid answer to this question. Do you dream of charging your mobile phone in seconds? Press wait for the moment.