Thomas Walker Smith ENGR1202 Writing Assignment Due 4/13/2017

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Exploring Battery Technology

Fossil fuels are a relic of the past that we must move past, for the health of our planet and
society in general. Renewable energy, such as solar, wind, hydroelectric, and geothermal are
achievable in theory, but the real-world application of these clean energy solutions has a big
challenge to overcome to become a reality in everyday life; better batteries. Batteries hold the
key to sustainable and usable renewable energy. The reason the use of renewables is not more
widespread is that we do not have a way to effectively store and transport power. The current
battery of choice, lithium-ion, lacks the storage to last when the sun is not shining, or the wind is
not blowing. Modern lithium-ion batteries have not been more integrated into the mainstream
power system mostly because of performance and safety issues, and while lithium-ion has served
as an upgrade to the nickel-cadmium batteries found throughout the 20th century, they lack proper
power density and storage capacity to allow for more dependence upon renewable energy.
The history of the battery is long, filled with interesting innovations, and some of
humanities frontier scientists. The first official battery was created by scientist Alessandro Volta,
and was called the Voltaic Pile (as seen in figure 1). It was created by stacking copper and zinc
disks, then separating them by cloth soaked in brine [5]. The first rechargeable battery came in
the form of a Lead-acid battery, created in 1859 by Gaston Plante. His design consisted of two
sheets of lead separated by rubber strips, rolled into a spiral and then placed in a tank containing
a solution partly comprised of sulfuric acid [8]. The first dry cell, meaning the electrolytes are
contained in a low-moisture paste (as compared to wet cell, where they are contained in liquid)
[6], was a Zinc-carbon battery in 1886, designed by Carl Gassner. The 20th century brought us
developments such as the Nickel-iron, alkaline batteries, and finally the Lithium-ion battery.
Batteries using lithium were first experimented on in 1912, but finally came to market in the
1970s, and are now a mainstay in consumer and commercial electronics.

Figure 1: A Voltaic pile

Lithium-ion batteries are the most popular type of battery, with applications being found
in laptops, cell phones, and rechargeable power packs. They are made of lithium and carbon, and
have an energy density of 150 watt-hours of electricity in 1 kilogram of battery [1]. Each lithium-
ion battery has 3 parts: a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and an electrolyte. When
Thomas Walker Smith ENGR1202 Writing Assignment - Draft Due 3/17/2017
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charging, the positive electrode releases lithium ions, which travel through the electrolyte to the
negative electrode. When the battery is being used, these ions move back to the positive
electrode, producing energy [2]. There are many problems with lithium-ion batteries. They
cannot be charged in low temperatures, such as below 0 degrees, and they have a fairly high
failure rate. When punctured or over heated, lithium-ion can get very destructive. An example of
this would-be Samsungs Galaxy note 7. When several customers reported exploding batteries,
Samsung was forced to do a full recall, costing them over 5 billion [9].

Figure 2: The destruction of a lithium-ion battery [10]

As stated before, the world is searching for a new battery. There are several promising
developments, such as lithium-air, lithium-Sulphur, vanadium flow, gold nanowire, and sodium-
ion. In figure 2, each is listed with their respective Anode/cathode, and the pros/cons of each.
The main problem facing the advancement of battery technology is the lack of funding going to
forms other than lithium-ion. The average startup to develop the next phase of batteries only
starts with 40 million dollars. It will cost you $500 million to set up a small manufacturing line
and do all the minutiae of research you need to do to make the product, says Gerd Ceder, a
professor at the University of California, Berkley. For comparison, Tesla is investing 5 billion
dollars into its new gigafactory, which will exclusively produce lithium-ion batteries [7].
Name Anode/Cathode Pros Cons

Lithium-Ion Positive Lightweight, Complete discharge

Electrode/Negative relatively high energy or overcharge
Electrode density. Low self- shortens life. Loses
discharge rate. ~5% of capacity per
month.
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Lithium-Air Lithium/Porous 10x the energy Cycle life is only 50.
Carbon density of lithium- Lithium and oxygen
ion. produce a barrier
killing storage
capacity.
Lithium-Sulphur Lithium/Sulphur, Lighter and cheaper High volume
Carbon than lithium-ion. expansion. Poor
conductivity/stability
at higher temps.
Vanadium Flow Vanadium/Vanadium Using ions to store Heavy, limited
Batteries chemical energy, can applications. Poor
be expanded by using energy to volume
larger electrolyte tank ratio.
Gold Nanowire PBO2 nanowire No energy Nanowires often
degradation after break down during
200,000 tests. charging, must be
used with a gel
electrolyte.
Sodium-ion Carbon/Sodium Iron Cheaper, non-toxic, Sodium ions are 25%
Phosphate more abundant than bigger than lithium
lithium. 70% energy ions. Extended
retention after 400 charge and discharge
cycles time.
Figure 2: Table comparing different types of batteries [3][4]
My interest in batteries was first inspired in high school by my engineering teacher, Mr.
Robbins. He would tell us how batteries are a technology that is in desperate need of
advancement. The key to electric vehicles and renewable energy as a whole lies in the power
density and storage of batteries. The problem with renewable energy, specifically solar and wind
power, is that the sun doesnt shine all day, and the wind doesnt always blow. We need a way to
have back up, and a large amount of stored energy we can pull from when the means of
production are lacking.
In this essay, I discussed the evolution of the battery. How it started with the Voltaic pile
slowly evolved to rechargeable, dry cells, and the dramatic increase in technology in the 20th
century. I showed how battery development has stagnated due to a lack of funding put forth into
R&D for new technology. The drawbacks of using a lithium-ion was showcased, and new battery
technology was showcased, including the pros and cons. Lithium-ion batteries are a technology
that served us well for a long time, but due to enormous shortcoming and safety hazards, wont
cut it. To finally make the jump from fossil fuels to exclusively renewables, we must develop
batteries with enough energy storage to last when our sources of renewable energy are not
readily available.
Thomas Walker Smith ENGR1202 Writing Assignment - Draft Due 3/17/2017
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[1] Brain, Marshall. "How Lithium-ion Batteries Work." HowStuffWorks. November 14,
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batteries-work.html
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[7] Martin, Richard. "We have better battery technologies, but not better batteries. Here's
why." MIT Technology Review. October 14, 2016. Accessed March 16, 2017.
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/602245/why-we-still-dont-have-better-batteries/.
[8] The Editors of Encyclopdia Britannica. "Gaston Plante." Encyclopdia Britannica.
Encyclopdia Britannica, inc., 22 Oct. 2009. Web. 13 Apr. 2017.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Gaston-Plante.
[9] Mullen, Jethro. "Galaxy Note 7: Samsung's losses keep mounting." CNNMoney. Cable
News Network, 14 Oct. 2016. Web. 13 Apr. 2017.
http://money.cnn.com/2016/10/14/technology/samsung-galaxy-note-7-profit-loss/.
[10] Westcott, Richard. "Batteries on planes pose 'increased fire risk'" BBC News. BBC, 04
Feb. 2014. Web. 13 Apr. 2017.
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-25733346.