RE:RE:RE:Batteries edging out fossil fuel
The Silicon Difference The Energy Departments Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is among those promoting the lithium-silicon movement, so lets have it explain the advantages. Silicon has long been appealing for use as a material in lithium-ion battery anodes, because its energy capacity is up to 10 times that of the commonly used material, graphiteleading to lithium-ion batteries with 20 to 40 percent higher energy density, PNNL explains. There being no such thing as a free lunch, there is a problem. Silicon anodes expand almost 300% during the charging process, when lithium ions crowd in. When the battery discharges, the lithium ions make an exit, leaving the silicon anode to wither back down to its original size. As a result of the stress, the anode eventually cracks and disintegrates, with a consequent impact on battery life. Earlier iterations of new lithium-silicon technology managed to work around the problem, but then cost factors in as an obstacle. Many of the proposed silicon anodes that hope to tolerate the flow of lithium will require expensive starting materials and complex synthesis processes that use specialized equipment, making it challenging to produce at commercially relevant scales and costs, PNNL has noted.