World races to develop batteries that can store more energy

The scientific world is battling time to develop batteries that can store more energy and India is no exception. As a matter of fact, the country is at the forefront of the exercise.

A cell, which is a unit of a battery, has four parts like anode, which supplies electrons; cathode which receives them; electrolyte, the medium through which the anode atoms that have lost an electron (or ion) move to the cathode and separator, a physical barrier between anode and cathode (together called electrodes).

Of these, the separator’s role is limited; rigorous research is on globally to make the other three better.

The favourite material for anode today is lithium for it is a very light metal with electrons to give away (though scientists are also trying out other metals such as sodium and iron). The anode is typically a compound of lithium because pure (metallic) lithium is an uncontrollable brat. This compound is usually kept embedded in graphite.

The focus of many researchers is on developing better anodes so that a cell packs more energy and lasts longer. Scientists at the Hyderabad-based International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI) and IIT-Madras recently announced the development of a high-performance anode made of a composite material, an ortho-rhombic form of molybdenum trioxide and ‘single-walled carbon nanohorns’ (SWCNH).

ARCI has also developed a new process for making the more conventional anode, lithium titanium oxide (LTO) which has the potential to bring down the cost of a battery. The scientists used different input materials (precursors) — TiO2 and Li2CO3, it is understood.

Another significant research pertains to the development of a new type of electrolyte, a solid called ‘lithium garnet’, by Prof Ramaswamy Murugan of the University of Pondicherry. Solid state batteries are the future, Murugan tells Quantum, because of their high energy density.

Incidentally, Murugan’s project has been selected for Government of India’s financial support under an Indo-Hungarian science collaboration programme that will cover his expenses of working with a Hungarian scientist. The Hungarian help is sought to develop the polymer nano composite.

 This, incidentally, is the technology pursued by a US-based start-up called QuantumScape founded by an Indian Jagdeep Singh and funded by Volkswagen and Bill Gates Foundation and which went public just last year. Incidentally, the company’s tagline is ‘the future is solid’.

The next big breakthrough in Li-ion batteries is the commercial-scale production of a solid state battery the importance of which has been underscored by global experts such as Prof Werner Weppner of the University of Kiel, Germany.

Niti Aayog has been apprised of Murugan’s invention and Hyderabad-based, NSE-listed HBL Power Systems has shown interest in a tie-up.