Next Generation Batteries: Beyond Solid State

This video looks at a number of battery breakthroughs from Chinese battery manufacturer CATL. What they say they have achieved for lifespan and energy density is nothing short of amazing. They have used honeycomb designs and biomimicry to enable the use of lithium metal anodes and increase charging speeds. They say with the new condensed battery that they have even enabled electric flight.

Sources:

Credits:
Producer & Presenter: Ryan Hughes
Research: Ryan Hughes
Video Editing: @aniokukade and Ryan Hughes
Music: Ryan Hughes

#Battery #Breakthrough #CATL

[NGC-]

No matter how many times I learn how batteries work, I still don't fully understand it lol.

[TwoBitDaVinci]

Great Video Ryan! I love the point you make that solid-state isn't the goal, its higher density batteries and lithium anodes... It's fascinating in science and engineering when we develop one type of technology for decades, only to see it surpassed by some new contender no one sees coming.

[weeb]

>The End of Solid State
the Solid State hasn't' even begun.

[michaeljames]

Wow! That is genuinely huge news. 500Wh/Kg! No degradation in five years?? If the price can be made affordable, then this is the first 'game changing' tech, I've seen in a while. Needed two videos. Thanks.

[GregFurtman]

Ryan, another good video! I'm 73 years old, studied Physics in college, and have always been interested in renewable energy, non-fossil fuel vehicles, energy storage, and climate change. I am both amazed and thankful for all the research being done to wean us off of fossil fuels to hopefully stop climate change before we hit the unrecoverable tipping point. Keep up the good work!

[unitedstatesofamerica]

Video 4 weeks ago: *_"Solid state batteries coming sooner that we think."_*

This video: *_"The end of solid state batteries."_*

[CesarAngeles]

The only (and important problem ) is still the Lithium supply chain. It is not really abundant, really dirty to mine and to recycle and it is linked with unethical acquisition and exploitation so still we need research in all technologies

[kiae-nirodiariesencore]

Bonjour from France and thank you for an educational video. My EV is only 5 years old and is already way off the pace, such is the rapid pace of battery technology...pouch cells, NMC chemistry, 147 Wh/Kg, 75 kW Max charging speed ...having said that nothing has gone wrong in 103, 000 km and no discernible loss of range.

[j.d.]

Can't go a single day anymore without at least 1 astonishing breakthrough.

[andreweliason]

I am disappointed that the video begins with an improper statement regarding electron flow. Electrons flow from the negative terminal of a battery (cathode), through the circuit, and into the positive terminal (anode). To state otherwise diminishes your credibility.

[guymontag]

I've lost count of all the amazing new battery technologies I've heard about in the past several years yet practically none of them have resulted in any commercial products.😕

[StephCno]

The Tener is a standard 20-foot containerized energy storage system equipped with CATL's energy storage-specific L-series long-life lithium iron phosphate cells.

The energy storage system has an energy density of 430 Wh/L and a total capacity of 6.25 MWh, which CATL said in April was the highest in the world.

The Tener has a cycle life of more than 15, 000 cycles, which is 1.7 times the current mainstream level, and will not decay in the first five years of its 20-year life expectancy, according to CATL.

As a grid-scale energy storage system, Tener can integrate renewable energy sources into the grid, improving grid stability and reliability,

[simontillson]

“We won’t get into the other components”. Fail!
I have no doubt that if it does work as stated, this will increase energy density a bit. BUT:
The main weight in a cell is the cathode. Lithium metal anodes only improve the weight of the anode. They do nothing to the cathode. Also, this new structured gel electrolyte will be heavier than current gelled/polymer electrolytes, and I seriously doubt if it can maintain its structural stability over thousands of charge cycles - side products will inevitably build up and degrade its delicately balanced structure over time.
Also, the energy density is nowhere near that required for aircraft. Maybe a city taxi service would work, but that’s it.
Just read up on international aircraft regulations regarding emergency fuel loads for long haul flights - we’re still a factor of 10 or more away from making that happen. Ask those PHDs you ‘interviewed’ about these issues, and if they disagree, check where they’re being sponsored from!
Lastly, CATL has spent enormous amounts on expansion in recent years, and faces an uncertain future in China due to lacklustre domestic sales, reducing CCP support and flagging volume sales internationally. They’re in a bit of a tight spot. I wonder if this is a ploy to generate investment? After all, they haven’t demonstrated any of this yet - just white paper hype so far. I remain highly suspicious.

[sahanda]

Solid state was vaporware... it couldn't even get out of lab... CATL is a true innovative company... Kudos for them....

[MGZetta]

People acting like CATL is random lab in the basement that managed to write article by luck. Lmao. They don't realize who they discrediting. "Wake me up when it's commercially available." they don't know the only one that has resources to make these batteries commercial is CATL. lol

[JustSomeJoe-dprp]

Solid state would need to begin before it can end. I'm sorry, but I'll believe a battery breakthrough when it's actually commercialized, in production, in products and affordable. I've been reading about these breakthroughs for literal decades, and none have made it to market in any meaningful way, if at all.

[steverobbins]

Nice video, but as an electrical engineer, I feel I should point out a couple of minor mistakes. At 2:11 you show a battery consisting of, anode, cathode, and electrolyte -- which is fine -- but you show it connected to another battery, like when jump-starting a car. I think you meant to show the battery in normal operation, so it should've been connected to a load, not another battery.
Also, you got the flow of electrons backwards. The negatively charged electrons are attracted to the positive anode, so they come out of the cathode, go through the load, then return to the anode. Conventional current flow is in the opposite direction, from plus to minus.

[MrGHenchel]

I certainly appreciate the clarity of your presentations.

[TLguitar]

This is an interesting development and I hope the information the company has provided is accurate, but a couple of points:

1. Another benefit of a solid state electrolyte is that it won't be flammable and almost impossible to put out in case of fire, and that issue remains in the discussed battery even if it should be very stable under standard conditions.

2. If the metals used are still the same rare ones with their large environmental impact, unless they could use this technique to speed up the development of the more appealing alternatives that currently underperform this will also remain an issue.

3. Regarding energy density for large planes as is suggested in the video – jet fuel has an energy density of about 12, 000 Wh/kg, so it's still around 24 times as energy dense by mass. Even though theoretical jumbo electric planes would use a completely different type of engine, let's still put it in this perspective: a Boeing 747 is quoted as burning 10 to 11 tons of jet fuel per hour of flight, so a flight from London to NYC at around 8 hours burns more than 80 tons of jet fuel. The plane would not be able to fly using ~2, 000 tons of batteries, as that is 12 times as heavy as the empty plane is. Even for much shorter flights I don't see how it is viable in planes built to carry hundreds of passengers, because even if the flight is short enough to require energy that can technically be carried by the engines, maximizing the weight at every short-haul would make short flights _much_ more energy intensive than they ideally should be.

[neilmckechnie]

The breakthrough for air travel would be for structural CATL batteries to be built into the carbon-fibre structure of an aeroplane. Making the gross weight of the aeroplane up to 60% lighter, allowing for a greater range. A more aerodynamic fuselage and a wider wingspan would allow for the final 40% of a flight to be predominantly glide-only with deployable air-resistance to regenerate the batteries.