The advent of aluminum-ion batteries has attracted global attention. This battery promises a charging time of just 12 minutes, while the range reaches a staggering 1200 km. This groundbreaking invention has led to doubts about whether the status of traditional lithium batteries will be subverted. Compared with lithium batteries, aluminum-ion batteries have higher energy density and longer life, and have broad application prospects in the electric vehicle market.
Aluminum-ion batteries work similarly to lithium batteries, but aluminum batteries can release up to 3 ions, while lithium batteries can only release one ion. This results in a higher energy density of about 550Wh kg, which is much higher than the 150-300Wh kg of lithium-ion batteries. As a result, aluminum batteries have a greater energy storage capacity and can provide a longer range for electric vehicles.
To improve the performance of the aluminium battery, the Indian company adopted a rock salt structure with a solid electrolyte mixed with niobium and aluminum. This structure not only eliminates the formation of dendrites and improves safety, but also supports 20,000 cycles of charging and discharging, and has a service life of more than 15 years. In contrast, lithium batteries have a shorter lifespan and a limited number of cycles of charge and discharge. As a result, aluminum-ion batteries show great advantages in terms of performance and service life.
Despite the many advantages of aluminum-ion batteries, there are still some challenges to achieving commercial application. First of all, the operating voltage of aluminum batteries is high, so the charging pile needs to provide higher power. However, the fastest Tesla Supercharger on the market today has a maximum power of only 150 kilowatts, which is far below the charging demand. Therefore, the upgrading and improvement of charging facilities is one of the urgent problems to be solved in the commercialization process of aluminum batteries.
In addition, aluminum has strong corrosiveness, which can easily lead to the consumption and damage of aluminum electrodes. While aluminum is less expensive and easy to regenerate, a solution needs to be found to this corrosion problem. Researchers need to find materials and coatings that can protect the aluminum electrodes and ensure the long-term stable operation of the aluminum-ion battery.
In addition, it has been reported that the Indian company does not have a patent application for the relevant aluminum-ion battery, and claims to have achieved this breakthrough result based on verbal publicity alone. This raises questions about the company's strength and technical viability. After all, in the field of science and technology, scientific verification and patent protection are key. Therefore, whether this aluminum battery can really be commercialized remains to be verified by time and technology.
Aluminum-ion batteries undoubtedly bring great promise, but they still face some technical difficulties in commercial application. At the same time, lithium batteries have matured and stabilized and are widely used in the field of electric vehicles. The main reasons why major new energy vehicle companies still tend to develop lithium batteries are as follows.
First of all, lithium batteries have undergone long-term research and development and experiments, and have mature production processes and first-class chain systems. In contrast, the R&D and commercialization process of aluminum-ion batteries is still in its infancy and requires more time and resources to perfect.
Secondly, lithium batteries have high energy density and good rechargeable performance. Although aluminum-ion batteries have a higher energy density, for most consumers, the range of lithium batteries is already more than enough to meet the demand. However, the commercial application of aluminum-ion batteries still takes time to solve the problems of charging facilities and the corrosiveness of materials.
In addition, with the continuous development of lithium battery technology, its safety and cycle life have also been greatly improved. This makes lithium batteries one of the most popular types of batteries out there. Although aluminum-ion batteries have shown advantages in terms of safety, they still need to address corrosive issues in their commercialization to ensure product reliability and safety.
The emergence of aluminum-ion batteries has undoubtedly brought a bright future to the electric vehicle market. Its fast charging speed and long range have the ability to solve the two major pain points in the development of electric vehicles. However, there are still some technical difficulties in the commercial application of aluminum-ion batteries, such as the problem of supporting charging facilities and corrosive challenges. Therefore, lithium batteries are still the mainstream power source for electric vehicles. However, it is foreseeable that with the continuous breakthrough and improvement of aluminum-ion battery technology, it is bound to occupy an important position in the future development and achieve wider application in the field of electric vehicles.