Aiming to make batteries ‘safer’ and ‘democratise electricity’
Researchers from the University of Coimbra (UC) have developed a project for a new generation of batteries that could be safer and have greater durability, as well as democratising electricity, the university announced today.
In a press release, the UC explained that the aim of the project, by researchers from the Faculty of Science and Technology, is “to find materials that could help develop a new generation of batteries and provide advances in relation to increasing the safety (more stable/ non-flammable) and durability of future post-lithium batteries.
“The issue with current batteries (used particularly in electric cars) is that they are made of lithium, a finite resource considered by the European Union to be a critical raw material and which is distributed in a very unbalanced way around the world”, said the project’s coordinator, João Vareda, quoted in the press release.
According to Vareda, “some countries benefit from the exploitation of lithium, while others are at its mercy”, noting that there is “a global effort to reduce this dependence, but also the use of certain materials, such as cobalt, which is a metal whose exploitation is associated with human rights violations”.
The researcher from the Chemical Engineering Department said that “sodium batteries could be the solution for replacing lithium, as sodium is available all over the world and is very affordable”, as well as “making it possible to replace some of those metals that are problematic”.
According to the press release, the project, called “Silica-Polymer Composite Aerogels As Solid Sodium Electrolytes (AeroNaLyte)”, has the aim of taking another step towards a greener future, “focused on creating silica-polymer composite aerogels using biocompatible materials and green solvents as solid electrolytes for a possible new generation of batteries, as well as testing the functionality of this approach and its application.
“The results are very positive and promising, but further work is needed to realise the potential of this strategy”, said the UC.
Other reasons that led the researcher to consider using aerogels in batteries are “the safety problems of current lithium batteries, due to their flammability; the difficulty or near impossibility of recycling” and “problems caused by the extraction of metals, particularly with regard to environmental and social issues” (see below).
The project coordinator added that the creation of this new generation of batteries could “allow electricity to reach places where it doesn’t exist yet”.
“Maybe they won’t be able to have an electricity grid like ours, but the accumulation of electricity in batteries will be very important for democratising electricity throughout the world”, said João Vareda, adding that “contributing to the possibility of the whole world having an electricity grid will certainly have a social, environmental and economic impact”.
The “AeroNaLyte” project was one of the winners of the 4th edition of the University of Coimbra’s Semente Awards for Interdisciplinary Scientific Research.
Meantime, what this project means for the many areas in Portugal fighting tooth and nail AGAINST lithium exploration on the basis that it will destroy locals’ businesses and quality of life, not to mention spend precious water and possibly even contaminate underground reserves, has not yet been quantified. The mere fact that researchers are already talking about a post-lithium future, and acknowledging the critical social and environmental impacts of lithium ‘exploration’, should favour the anti-lithium mining lobby which has already stressed it is prepared to go ‘all the way’ to protect areas under threat.
Source material: LUSA
