Solar Energy

EU, Serbia sign deal to kickstart lithium battery development

Published

5 months ago

July 21, 2024

sarosh

EU, Serbia sign deal to kickstart lithium battery development

By Mina Pejakovic and Ognjen Zoric

Belgrade (AFP) July 19, 2024

The European Union and Serbia signed a deal Friday to develop the supply of lithium batteries that are seen as a crucial building block needed to power Europe’s transition to a green economy.

The memorandum of understanding inked during a “critical raw materials summit” in Belgrade is seen as the first step in developing Serbia’s mineral resources and potentially building supply chains, including manufacturing lithium batteries and component parts.

The deal comes just days after a court decision saw the Serbian government reapprove a lithium mining project that had been shuttered for two years following mass protests.

Lithium is a strategically valuable metal needed for assembling electric vehicle batteries, making it key for helping Germany’s flagship automotive sector shift to greener production.

Serbia has vast lithium deposits near the western city of Loznica, where a disputed mining project run by the Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto has been a perennial political fault line in the Balkan country in recent years.

“There will be no project without full protection, and we know it will happen because we are bringing the best experts from Europe to Serbia,” said Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic during the summit, which was attended by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic.

“Chancellor Scholz has offered Germany’s support for Serbia to develop a more extensive lithium production value chain, which will bring us billions in investments,” Vucic added.

The government reinstated the licenses for the mining project earlier this week, after revoking in 2022 the permits granted to Rio Tinto following a string of demonstrations over environmental concerns.

The announcement came after Serbia’s constitutional court ruled last week that the permit cancellations were “not in line with the constitution and the law”, paving the way for the government to resume the project.

Vucic, whose party won parliamentary elections in December, has said environmental protection would be a priority after extracting new assurances from the company.

Rio Tinto has said Serbia’s lithium reserves in Loznica could produce an estimated 58,000 tonnes annually, enough for 1.1 million electric vehicles.

During an interview with Germany’s Handelsblatt ahead of the Belgrade summit, Vucic said conversations were ongoing with a range of European automakers including Mercedes, Volkswagen and Stellantis.

Vucic also said the country’s lithium exports would be sold only to European partners for the time being, despite interest from Chinese manufacturers.

“We promised this to the EU representatives,” said Vucic on Friday when asked about the comments.

“We have excellent relations with the Chinese, and that has nothing to do with this project.”

– Membership in mind –

Opponents remain worried however over the mine’s impact on the environment and public health.

Critics of the mine have long accused Vucic’s government of having a poor track record with regulating its industrial sector.

Outside of the summit, a small group of protestors surrounded by police slammed the deal.

“Leave lithium and democracy to the Serbian people,” said Savo Manojlovic, a leading organiser of the protests against the mine.

Protestors also say the country is taking the biggest environmental risks with the mine for the sake of the EU’s transition to a green economy.

The lithium deposits near Loznica were discovered in 2004, but weeks of protests sparked by fears for the environment and public health forced the government to halt the project in 2022.

Vucic has hinted that Serbia could begin mining lithium as early as 2028.

The president has also said the deal would involve guarantees that limited the sale of raw materials from the country and ensure that most of the lithium exports would be through Serbian-produced batteries or component parts.

“This means battery production and potentially cars (would be manufactured in Serbia), indicating a significant technological undertaking that involves domestic science, expertise, and industry,” Aleksandar Jovovic from the mechanical engineering department of Belgrade University told AFP.

Serbia has been a candidate to join the European Union since 2012, but its prospects are seen as bleak without a normalisation of relations with Kosovo.

“The partnership will further strengthen political relations and promote long-term economic growth in Serbia and the EU, contributing to Serbia’s efforts to join the EU,” the Serbian government said in a statement on Thursday.

mp-ds

Volkswagen

Stellantis

Source link

Solar Energy

‘Capture the oxygen’ strategy boosts lithium-ion battery lifespan

Published

4 days ago

December 27, 2024

sarosh

‘Capture the oxygen’ strategy boosts lithium-ion battery lifespan

by Riko Seibo

Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Dec 27, 2024

A team of researchers from POSTECH, led by Professor Jihyun Hong of the Department of Battery Engineering and Dr. Gukhyun Lim, has unveiled a key method to extend the durability of lithium-rich layered oxide (LLO) material, a promising cathode for next-generation lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Their findings, published in Energy and Environmental Science, represent a major step forward in the development of high-energy-density, sustainable battery technologies.

LLO materials provide a 20% increase in energy density over traditional nickel-based cathodes by substituting nickel and cobalt with lithium and manganese. This makes them a cost-effective and eco-friendly alternative for electric vehicles and energy storage systems (ESS). However, widespread adoption has been hindered by capacity fading and voltage decay during repeated charge-discharge cycles.

Addressing these challenges, the POSTECH researchers focused on the destabilizing effect of oxygen release during battery operation. By improving the chemical stability of the cathode-electrolyte interface, they minimized oxygen release, a primary cause of structural instability. Enhancing the electrolyte composition, they achieved an 84.3% energy retention rate after 700 cycles, compared to just 37.1% retention after 300 cycles with conventional electrolytes.

The team also identified structural surface changes in LLO as critical to stability and lifespan. By targeting these changes, they reduced detrimental reactions such as electrolyte decomposition, further improving battery performance.

“Using synchrotron radiation, we analyzed chemical and structural differences between the cathode surface and its interior,” said Professor Jihyun Hong. “We discovered that surface stability is essential for maintaining the material’s structural integrity and performance. This work opens new pathways for developing advanced cathode materials.”

The research highlights the critical importance of optimizing both electrolyte composition and cathode surface structure to overcome the limitations of LLO materials, paving the way for longer-lasting, high-performance lithium-ion batteries.

Research Report:Decoupling capacity fade and voltage decay of Li-rich Mn-rich cathodes by tailoring surface reconstruction pathways

Source link

Solar Energy

Breakthrough new material brings affordable, sustainable future within grasp

Published

1 week ago

December 22, 2024

sarosh

Breakthrough new material brings affordable, sustainable future within grasp

by Rashda Khan for Canepa News

Houston TX (SPX) Dec 23, 2024

While lithium-ion batteries have been the go-to technology for everything from smartphones and laptops to electric cars, there are growing concerns about the future because lithium is relatively scarce, expensive and difficult to source, and may soon be at risk due to geopolitical considerations. Scientists around the world are working to create viable alternatives.

An international team of interdisciplinary researchers, including the Canepa Research Laboratory at the University of Houston, has developed a new type of material for sodium-ion batteries that could make them more efficient and boost their energy performance – paving the way for a more sustainable and affordable energy future.

The new material, sodium vanadium phosphate with the chemical formula NaxV2(PO4)3, improves sodium-ion battery performance by increasing the energy density – the amount of energy stored per kilogram – by more than 15%. With a higher energy density of 458 watt-hours per kilogram (Wh/kg) compared to the 396 Wh/kg in older sodium-ion batteries, this material brings sodium technology closer to competing with lithium-ion batteries.

“Sodium is nearly 50 times cheaper than lithium and can even be harvested from seawater, making it a much more sustainable option for large-scale energy storage,” said Pieremanuele Canepa, Robert Welch assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at UH and lead researcher of the Canepa Lab. “Sodium-ion batteries could be cheaper and easier to produce, helping reduce reliance on lithium and making battery technology more accessible worldwide.”

From Theory to Reality

The Canepa Lab, which uses theoretical expertise and computational methods to discover new materials and molecules to help advance clean energy technologies, collaborated with the research groups headed by French researchers Christian Masquelier and Laurence Croguennec from the Laboratoire de Rea’ctivite’ et de Chimie des Solides, which is a CNRS laboratory part of the Universite’ de Picardie Jules Verne, in Amiens France, and the Institut de Chimie de la Matie`re Condense’e de Bordeaux, Universite’ de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France for the experimental work on the project. This allowed theoretical modelling to go through experimental validation.

The researchers created a battery prototype using the new material, NaxV2(PO4)3, demonstrating significant energy storage improvements. NaxV2(PO4)3, part of a group called “Na superionic conductors” or NaSICONs, is designed to let sodium ions move smoothly in and out of the battery during charging and discharging.

Unlike existing materials, it has a unique way of handling sodium, allowing it to work as a single-phase system. This means it remains stable as it releases or takes in sodium ions. This allows the NaSICON to remain stable during charging and discharging while delivering a continuous voltage of 3.7 volts versus sodium metal, higher than the 3.37 volts in existing materials.

While this difference may seem small, it significantly increases the battery’s energy density or how much energy it can store for its weight. The key to its efficiency is vanadium, which can exist in multiple stable states, allowing it to hold and release more energy.

“The continuous voltage change is a key feature,” said Canepa. “It means the battery can perform more efficiently without compromising the electrode stability. That’s a game-changer for sodium-ion technology.”

Possibilities for a Sustainable Future

The implications of this work extend beyond sodium-ion batteries. The synthesis method used to create NaxV2(PO4)3 could be applied to other materials with similar chemistries, opening new possibilities for advanced energy storage technologies. That could in turn, impact everything from more affordable, sustainable batteries to power our devices to help us transition to a cleaner energy economy.

“Our goal is to find clean, sustainable solutions for energy storage,” Canepa said. “This material shows that sodium-ion batteries can meet the high-energy demands of modern technology while being cost-effective and environmentally friendly.”

A paper based on this work was published in the journal Nature Materials. Ziliang Wang, Canepa’s former student and now a postdoctoral fellow at Northwestern University, and Sunkyu Park, a former student of the French researchers and now a staff engineer at Samsung SDI in South Korea, performed much of the work on this project.

Research Report:Obtaining V2(PO4)3 by sodium extraction from single-phase NaxV2(PO4)3 (1 < x < 3) positive electrode materials

Source link

Solar Energy

Pioneering advancements in solid-state battery technology for energy storage

Published

1 week ago

December 22, 2024

sarosh

Pioneering advancements in solid-state battery technology for energy storage

by Riko Seibo

Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Dec 23, 2024

Recent strides in solid-state battery technology are setting the stage for a transformative era in energy storage. These advancements hold promise for revolutionizing electric vehicles and renewable energy systems through improved performance and safety. A focus on electrolyte innovation has been key to this progress, enabling the development of high-performance all-solid-state batteries (ASSBs).

A new review paper provides a comprehensive summary of advancements in inorganic solid electrolytes (ISEs), materials that are central to ASSBs. Researchers examined the roles of oxides, sulfides, hydroborates, antiperovskites, and halides not only as electrolytes but also as catholytes and interface layers, which collectively enhance battery performance and safety.

“We highlighted the recent breakthroughs in synthesizing these materials, honing our attention on the innovative techniques that enable the precise tuning of their properties to meet the demanding requirements of ASSBs,” said Eric Jianfeng Cheng, associate professor at Tohoku University’s Advanced Institute for Materials Research (AIMR). “Precise tuning is crucial for developing batteries with higher energy densities, longer life cycles, and better safety profiles than conventional liquid-based batteries.”

The review also delves into the electrochemical properties of ISEs, including ionic conductivity, stability, and electrode compatibility. Researchers evaluated current ASSB models and suggested emerging strategies that could drive the next generation of energy storage solutions.

However, challenges persist in the development of ASSBs, notably the limited compatibility between ISEs and electrodes, which can trigger interfacial reactions. Addressing these compatibility issues is vital to improving battery efficiency and longevity. The review outlines these challenges and provides insights into efforts aimed at overcoming them.

“Our comprehensive review underscores the importance of continued research and development in the field of solid-state batteries. By developing new materials, improving synthesis methods, and overcoming compatibility issues, current efforts are driving innovation toward practical ASSBs that could transform how we store and use energy,” Cheng added.

Research Report:Inorganic solid electrolytes for all-solid-state lithium/sodium-ion batteries: recent developments and applications