HIU-Newsletter
You a scientist yourself? A journalist, a political decision-maker or business representative? In our newsletters we compile the latest battery research news for you. Specially tailored to your personal area of interest.
Battery systems are on the advance as energy storage devices around the world. But the many everyday batteries must also deliver what the public expects from them: a functioning energy supply and climate-friendly electromobility. And there are many aspects to consider.
External source: „scobel – Energiewende komplex“
Scientist: Prof. Dr. Maximilian Fichtner
Date: 02.09.2021
Link: https://www.3sat.de/wissen/scobel/scobel–energiewende-komplex-100.html
External source: „Voll geladen – Neue Speicher für die Energiewende“
Date: 04.05.2021
Link: https://www.zdf.de/wissen/leschs-kosmos/voll-geladen-neue-speicher-fuer-die-energiewende-100.html
Video: „Wozu gibt es Heimspeicher?“
Date: 12.02.2021
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O67cWpmdDOM
External source: „scobel – Projekt Strom“
Scientist: Prof. Dr. Maximilian Fichtner
Date: 20.08.2020
Link: https://www.3sat.de/wissen/scobel/scobel—projekt-strom-102.html
Presentation: „Nachhaltige Batterien für die Speicherung Erneuerbarer Energie – wohin geht die Reise?“
Scientsist: Prof. Dr. Maximilian Fichtner
Date: 09.12.2019
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gz4KtmBKE9Y
Presentation: „SWR-Fernsehbeitrag über HIU-Apfelbatterie (02.03.2016)“
Scientist: Daniel Buchholz
Date: 02.03.2016
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nEysGtDfcM
External source: „scobel – Energiewende komplex“
Scientist: Prof. Dr. Maximilian Fichtner
Date: 02.09.2021
Link: https://www.3sat.de/wissen/scobel/scobel–energiewende-komplex-100.html
External source: „Unter Druck: Wasserstoff in der Mobilität“
Scientist: Prof. Dr. Maximilian Fichtner
Date: 02.09.2021
Link: https://www.3sat.de/wissen/wissenschaftsdoku/020926-sendung-wido-100.htmlhttps://www.3sat.de/wissen/scobel/scobel–energiewende-komplex-100.html
External source: „Voll geladen – Neue Speicher für die Energiewende“
Date: 04.05.2021
Link: https://www.zdf.de/wissen/leschs-kosmos/voll-geladen-neue-speicher-fuer-die-energiewende-100.html
Video: „Was kommt nach der Lithium-Ionen-Batterie?“
Date: 12.02.2021
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFUznXX56zc
External source: „scobel – Projekt Strom“
Scientist: Prof. Dr. Maximilian Fichtner
Date: 20.08.2020
Link: https://www.3sat.de/wissen/scobel/scobel—projekt-strom-102.html
Video: „Was kommt nach der Lithium-Ionen-Batterie?“
Date: 12.02.2021
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFUznXX56zc
Presentation: „Sodium Ion Batteries (engl.)“
Scientist: Prof. Dr. Stefano Passerini
Date: 11.07.2021
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2FyGhqiAv0
Presentation: „Nachhaltige Zukunftsbatterien“
Scientist: Prof. Dr. Axel Groß
Date: 09.07.2021
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXq_gV7gdD0
Presentation: „Nachhaltige Batterien für die Speicherung Erneuerbarer Energie – wohin geht die Reise?“
Scientist: Prof. Dr. Maximilian Fichtner
Date: 09.12.2019
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gz4KtmBKE9Y
Presentation: „SWR-Fernsehbeitrag über HIU-Apfelbatterie (02.03.2016)“
Scientist: Daniel Buchholz
Date: 02.03.2016
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nEysGtDfcM
Podcast: „Natrium-Ionen-Batterie“
Scientist: Dr. Dominic Bresser
Date: 16.11.2021
Link: https://geladen.podigee.io/3-natrium-ionen-batterie
Podcast: „Natrium-Ionen-Batterie von Natron Energy“
Scientist: Dr. Dominic Bresser
Date: 27.07.2021
Link: https://geladen.podigee.io/14-natronenergy
Podcast: „BYD, CATL, Tesla & die LFP-Zellen“
Scientist: Prof. Dr. Maximilian Fichtner
Date: 26.01.2021
Link: https://geladen.podigee.io/7-lithiumeisenphosphat
Podcast: „Batterieforschung“
Scientist: Prof. Dr. Helmut Ehrenberg
Date: 26.01.2021
Link: https://geladen.podigee.io/1-batterieforschung
Presentation: „Beyond Lithium-Ion Batteries“
Scientist: Dr. Giuseppe Antonio Elia
Date: 05.03.2021
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JqljWVMf18&t=5s
Video: „Was kommt nach der Lithium-Ionen-Batterie?“
Date: 12.02.2021
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFUznXX56zc
Podcast: „Natrium-Ionen-Batterie“
Scientist: Dr. Dominic Bresser
Date: 16.11.2021
Link: https://geladen.podigee.io/3-natrium-ionen-batterie
Presentation: „Sodium Ion Batteries (engl.)“
Scientist: Prof. Dr. Stefano Passerini
Date: 11.07.2021
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2FyGhqiAv0
Podcast: „Natrium-Ionen-Batterie von Natron Energy“
Scientist: Dr. Dominic Bresser
Date: 27.07.2021
Link: https://geladen.podigee.io/14-natronenergy
External source: „Forschen unter Strom“
Scientist: Prof. Dr. Stefano Passerini
Date: 20.12.2019
Link: https://www.dw.com/de/forschen-unter-strom/av-49487781
External source: „Aufgeladen! – Was steckt in unseren Akkus?“
Date: 05.07.2020
Link: https://kinder.wdr.de/tv/neuneinhalb/av/video-aufgeladen—was-steckt-in-unseren-akkus-102.html
Video: „Wie werden Lithium-Ionen-Batterien recycelt?“
Date: 12.02.2021
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoEJGTtzalI
Most of the batteries currently manufactured industrially are so-called lithium-ion batteries (LIB). The media occasionally report critical of the political, ecological and economic risks involved in extracting components such as cobalt and lithium.
A third of the world's lithium is currently extracted in South America. A frequently mentioned point of criticism is the high water consumption when the light metal is broken down. The production of lithium from salt lakes in Chile, Argentina and Bolivia causes a water shortage when it is already scarce, according to critics. According to a survey by the Danish Technological Institute, between 400 and 2000 liters of water are currently required to produce 1 kg of lithium. A vehicle battery with an energy content of 60 kWh typically contains 6 kg of lithium, which corresponds to an amount of water of 2400 L - 12,000 L. For comparison: 3,000 liters of water are used to produce cotton for a T-shirt, 15,000 liters to produce 1 kg of beef and 20,000 liters to produce 1 kg of coffee.
Most of the lithium deposits are located outside of Europe and are concentrated in a few countries. This makes stable supply insecure. The European Commission has therefore put lithium on its list of critical raw materials. For electric vehicle batteries and stationary energy storage, the EU would need up to 18 times more lithium in 2030 and almost 60 times more lithium in 2050, compared to the current supply to the entire EU economy. This increase in demand could lead to supply problems under today's conditions.
The supply situation for the metal cobalt is more complicated. In principle, this is extremely rare - only 0.004 percent of the earth's crust consists of it. Around 60 percent of the cobalt extracted is currently used in battery production (especially for cell phones and notebooks that contain high levels of cobalt), the remaining 40 percent is used for hard metals and cutting steels (drills), in magnets and as catalysts. 60 percent of the cobalt mined worldwide comes from the Congo, of which 15 to 20 percent comes from small-scale mining. The lack of occupational safety measures in small-scale mining results, among other things, in direct contact with heavy metals (especially uranium) in the rock and in fatal accidents. Children are used for light additional work in sales, but also for the most difficult and high-risk work full-time. European manufacturers only obtain cobalt from certified mines that do not involve child labor. In the medium term, an attempt is being made to no longer have to use cobalt in the batteries. The Chinese battery and vehicle manufacturer BYD is already using a cobalt-free battery.
Because of various aspects of sustainability, research is therefore being carried out into alternatives to, and improvements to, the lithium-ion battery. It is currently not expected that these will completely replace the existing technology, but only replace it in some applications. The following materials could be used here.
The sodium-ion battery is one of the most advanced post-lithium technologies, batteries that do not contain any lithium at all. Compared to other alternatives, it is already closer to market launch. However, sodium has two disadvantages: it is three times as heavy as lithium. Sodium-ion batteries are correspondingly heavier. In addition, sodium-ion batteries are less powerful because they inevitably lose around 10 percent of their energy density due to a 0.3 volt lower cell voltage. The market launch of sodium-ion batteries will therefore be limited to applications in which the disadvantages are negligible, as is the case with stationary storage systems.
Sodium is a more sustainable battery material. It is one of the most abundant elements on earth, found in sea salt, and is available all over the world, which could result in lower costs and higher production volumes. In addition, the sodium ion technology does not consume any scarce resources: cobalt or similar rare resources are not required. The sodium battery is even more environmentally friendly if a carbon is used for the anode, which is made from biomass such as apple scraps or peanut shells.
Magnesium follows sodium in the chemical periodic table. Magnesium offers many useful properties for electrochemical energy storage: It is present to a large extent on earth and is non-toxic, it transports two charges per magnesium ion instead of just one (such as lithium), and it enables sufficiently high cell voltages. It is also considered to be even safer than the lithium-ion battery, which, unlike magnesium batteries, can lead to short circuits caused by deposits on the electrodes. This means that the magnesium battery has great potential to develop into a safe, sustainable and high-performance battery technology. However, on the way to a competitive magnesium battery, research still has to remove numerous electrochemical obstacles.
You a scientist yourself? A journalist, a political decision-maker or business representative? In our newsletters we compile the latest battery research news for you. Specially tailored to your personal area of interest.
