A team of Japanese researchers from Yokohama University has developed a new electrode for lithium-ion batteries that power electric vehicles that could see them cost less to make, deliver a longer driving range, and even last longer.
Electric vehicles are increasingly seen as one answer to the challenges of climate change, as they emit zero tailpipe emissions and are more efficient with energy than petrol and diesel vehicles, even when the electric vehicles are powered off a coal-fired grid.
Add renewable energy sources to the mix and you have a truly carbon free form of transport.
Considering transport make up around 20% of Australia’s entire carbon footprint, it’s a benefit that could have a significant and positive impact.
But holding electric vehicles back is the high price of batteries, which can be valued at as much as 30% of the entire cost of a car, partly because of the use of expensive materials such as cobalt in the batteries.
The new research, which was published in Materials Today, describes a new electrode material using titanium and manganese, which are both plentiful and therefore more affordable.
“Electrode materials with higher energy density are needed to advance lithium ion batteries and to further develop electric vehicles,” said Naoaki Yabuuchi, professor at Yokohama University who lead the research, in a statement.
To read the full version of this story – and view the photo gallery – on RenewEconomy’s electric vehicle dedicated site, The Driven, click here…
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Bridie Schmidt is lead reporter for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She specialises in writing about new technology, and has a keen interest in the role that zero emissions transport has to play in sustainability.
