RE:Why Glencore would be interested in CCE’s fluorspar Fluorspar: New fluoride-ion battery chemistry
(2018)
Scientists from Honda Research Institute have collaborated with researchers at California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to develop a new fluoride-based battery (FIB) technology that allows room-temperature operation of fluoride-ion based energy cells.
The research team found a method for creating a fluoride-ion electrochemical cell capable of operating at room temperature – a breakthrough made possible by a chemically stable liquid fluoride-conducting electrolyte with high ionic conductivity and a wide operating voltage. The scientists developed the electrolyte using dry tetraalkylammonium fluoride salts dissolved in an organic, fluorinated ether solvent. When paired with a composite cathode featuring a core-shell nanostructure of copper, lanthanum and fluorine, the researchers demonstrated reversible electrochemical cycling at room temperature.
Roskill view:
FIBs are potentially an attractive alternative to other types of high-energy battery electrochemistries, such as those based on lithium or metal hydride chemistries, which are generally limited by the inherent properties of their electrodes. Due to the low atomic weight of fluorine, rechargeable batteries based on the element could offer very high energy densities, up to 10 times the theoretical values for lithium-ion technologies for example.
FIBs could power electric vehicles in the future. The higher-capacity nature of the battery makes it a good candidate for power products too.
https://roskill.com/news/fluorspar-new-fluoride-ion-battery-chemistry/