Which electrolyte is best suited for magnesium batteries to prevent rapid aging and dendrite formation? How can the substrate be optimized to absorb the active material? How can the processes in magnesium batteries be better understood through modelling?
Around 100 scientists from different countries are currently investigating these questions in Ulm. They take part in the 2nd International Symposium on Magnesium Batteries from 27th to 28th September at the Maritim Hotel Ulm. After 2016, the HIU is organising the Symposium on Magnesium Batteries for the second time.
The aim of the symposium is to discuss the current state of research and to present future scenarios. The 24 lectures and even more posters of the symposium deal with the topics electrolytes and additives, electrode interfaces, cathodes, anodes, modelling and systems.
Compared to lithium, magnesium can release and absorb two electrons each, making it a very interesting material for battery research. Magnesium batteries represent a lithium-free alternative in the field of “high-voltage batteries”. The advantages are obvious: magnesium is less reactive and therefore less dangerous. With magnesium, fewer dendrites are formed during charging, which are the main safety challenge when lithium metal anodes are used. It is also cheaper to manufacture because it reacts less quickly with air than lithium metal and can therefore be processed more easily. Magnesium is more sustainable than conventional battery materials and is present in large quantities, for example in the form of rock dolomite, which results in lower prices. Magnesium batteries could also act as stationary energy storage devices, for example in wind power plants or solar fields.