The Future of Battery Technology

What are the benefits of battery technology?

Today’s battery technology is increasingly energy dense, especially when using lithium-ion batteries. The more energy density a battery has, the longer it can remain active, emitting a charge, in relation to its size. These batteries offer high voltage, low maintenance requirements, and no ‘memory effect’ (where batteries hold less charge over time) which can impact battery capacity. The more battery technology improves, the greater the benefits to industry and consumers alike.

What industries currently benefit from this technology?

Lithium-ion batteries are some of the most popular batteries on the market today, replacing lead acid batteries in a lot of settings. The battery powering your phone, for example, is likely lithium-ion, as is the battery in your laptop or tablet. Lithium-ion batteries are used in electrical systems, aviation, vehicle manufacturing including autonomous vehicles, and wearables.

How is battery tech development vital for these industries?

For energy, aviation, vehicle manufacturing, wearables and other industries reliant on battery technology, the need for lighter, more powerful batteries is shared. As batteries grow smaller, with more energy density packed into each cell, there are greater opportunities for each industry. A wearable can stay in action longer, for example, without needing to be charged, while a drone, electric airplane, or autonomous vehicle can travel further.

What impact does it have on our lives?

Battery technology improvements impact our lives in positive ways, large and small. It’s easy to overlook the convenience of having small, powerful batteries in our devices, but can you imagine carrying around a phone with a clunky five-pound battery that requires recharging every hour? Smartwatches, fitness trackers, headphones, tablets — they are all powered by battery technology that allows for greater portability and longer use time. We might notice the impact of battery technology in a greater way when we look at transportation and energy. As technology improves, energy storage costs decline and options like electric vehicles and solar-powered energy become more affordable for the average consumer. Today’s electric vehicles can travel further for less, and better yet, they are no longer something that only the wealthiest people can afford. Finally, we all benefit from the impact of batteries on clean energy. Reducing fossil fuel reliance and carbon emissions is critical to managing our climate and environment, and batteries are an important strategy in doing so.

Why is battery tech important for a clean energy future?

Utility-scale batteries are transforming the energy sector, allowing for the storage of energy to smooth out oversupply and shortages in renewable energy. When solar plants or wind farms generate a lot of energy on a good day, high-quality batteries can store that energy for times when it cannot be actively generated as easily. The more battery storage we have for clean energy, the less reliant we are on conventional energy methods that kick in when demand is high.

What types of batteries are currently on the market?

What other options outside of lithium batteries exist on the market today? The technology largely centers on zinc carbon and alkaline. Zinc carbon batteries are common, with a low cost and a variety of sizes. You will typically find them in applications like radios, toys and instruments. Alkaline batteries are very popular as well, with a moderate cost and high performance. Then there are magnesium batteries, mercury batteries, and silver-zinc batteries, all of which are less common but used in some settings like medical devices and cameras.

What are current emerging technologies?

A lot of work being done on existing lithium-ion batteries is focused on the anode. The anode is an aspect of the battery that can be quite bulky and heavy. Adjusting the anode offers opportunities for smaller, more powerful batteries with greater energy density.

What is the most advanced new battery on the market today?

Our silicon anode lithium-ion batteries are a good example of this advanced technology at work. Using the Si-Nanowire platform, these commercially available batteries are groundbreaking. They offer many benefits over traditional graphite anode batteries, including energy density, cost, and lifespan.

What is the role of Amprius?

We know that there is a surging demand for batteries, and for enhanced battery technology. We are a leading manufacturer of high-energy, high-capacity lithium-ion batteries, constantly working in research and development and pilot manufacturing. Our focus is on silicon nanowire anodes and cells, with scalable production and a unique manufacturing process. Our work builds on research from Stanford University, and we aren’t done advancing technology any time soon! We are always looking at new ways to improve both battery technology and the manufacturing process for incredible performance and quality. Our mission is ultimately to make the highest energy density lithium-ion batteries in the world, so our industry partners can use them in new applications and markets that could not exist without our work.

What improvements are involved in the latest development?

We use silicon nanowires to overcome swelling and cracking, a common problem with silicon anodes, and as a better option than graphite anodes. Our batteries offer many benefits, which we’ll outline below.

Improved energy density

Today’s modern batteries have made great strides in energy density, a trend we expect to continue in future battery development. These batteries are capable of holding more energy than their earlier counterparts like nickel-cadmium batteries. Our silicon nanowire batteries boast the highest content of active silicon material, at 100 percent. Silicon is the best material for energy density, and using silicon for nanowires means that there is nothing to block the flow of current. Our nanowire batteries offer the highest ratio of energy to power.

Why is energy density important?

A battery with higher energy density can remain active longer in relation to its size. Looking again at a battery like that in your phone, energy density is what ensures this battery is small and lightweight, but still able to power your device. With energy-dense batteries, we can fit more, and better, batteries into smaller spaces and pack a lot of energy in. As you can see from this chart below, a battery like Amprius’s silicon anode battery offers more flight time, talk time, mission time, or driving range. It’s all thanks to high energy density. Our battery cells are capable of storing 73% more energy than Tesla Model 3 cells while occupying 37 per cent less volume.

Longer lifespan

By using silicon nanowires our batteries overcome cell life issues previous attempts at silicon anodes suffered. Instead of cracking and swelling like a conventional silicon anode is prone to do, our nanowires tolerate conditions well, while storing more lithium than graphite can. The end result is a battery with a long, useful lifespan, demonstrated in real-world use with multiple organizations and major aerospace companies.

Improved safety

A cracking, swelling battery anode is, of course, a safety concern. Physical damage can cause a thermal runaway, pressurizing the battery cell casing. Results can be anything from a smoking battery to a full explosion. Our batteries do not face the same swelling and cracking issues, thanks to the nanowire technology that stabilizes the anode.

Fully charged batteries in less time

Our nanowire anodes are thinner and lighter than conventional graphite anodes while offering higher conductivity. The anode structure also boasts low tortuosity or twisting, which means that the battery can charge very quickly.

Reduced levelized cost of energy

Levelized cost of energy is the cost of power produced by renewable energy, over the lifetime of the system. The lower the levelized cost of energy, the better the system is. To calculate it, add the capital expenditure (your initial investment), and operating expenditure together then divide that sum by the yield, or the energy your system harvests. The cost of battery energy storage is trending downward and has been for quite some time, creating a lower levelized cost of energy. The capital cost of a battery system, and its operating costs, are reduced while the yield improves with higher energy density.

Overall cost of lithium-ion batteries

The overall cost of lithium-ion batteries continues to drop, a good sign for electric vehicles according to Bloomberg. Improvements in technology, including adopting low-cost lithium iron phosphate for cathodes, is driving the decline in overall cost. While the battery industry is not immune from supply chain issues, Bloomberg predicts that battery costs will continue to reduce into 2024, at which point automakers can produce and sell mass-market electric vehicles at the same price point as internal combustion vehicles in some markets.

Examples of what’s possible

Battery technology and research is always improving, with scientists looking at options like solid-state batteries which use solid electrolytes for power. Lithium-ion batteries will always have the issue of being powered by liquid electrolytes, which can be volatile and unstable. These safety concerns make it harder to continue to pack more energy density into a smaller space. Solid state batteries will be more energy dense, with faster charging times and fewer safety concerns. Companies are pouring money into the research and development of solid-state batteries. Toyota pledged to invest more than $13.5 billion by 2030 to develop next-generation solid-state batteries, for example, and Nissan, Renault and Mitsubishi declared an intent to achieve widespread commercial manufacturing of all-solid-state batteries by mid-2028. An all-solid-state battery uses a carbon-free anode, which offers opportunities for companies like Amprius to make the technology even more energy dense. Researchers are already looking at how a pure silicon anode solid-state battery could work, and others are investigating a new electrode system. Ultimately, the availability and usability of all-solid-state batteries come down to cost and durability, as well as safety concerns with the build-up of lithium dendrites. Sodium-sulfur is another battery technology under research, with University of Texas at Austin researchers recently taking this tech one step closer to reality. Sodium and sulfur are inexpensive and abundant, offering a potentially very affordable new battery solution. Researchers developed an electrolyte that keeps dendrites at bay (the same problem with solid-state batteries), which in turn allows for a longer life cycle. Research in this area continues, and the team plans to test their solution with larger batteries to see if it can be scaled up for electric vehicles and renewable energy storage. In the meantime, researchers are working on improvements and enhancements to existing battery technology, which we know is beneficial, just like our nanowire tech. Cobalt-free batteries are in the works. Furthermore, charging technology is under research, theoretically allowing for extremely fast charging in the future. Whether these technologies are hopeful plans for the future, like the elusive solid-state battery, or an almost-attainable switch to existing technology, it’s clear that batteries have a bright future.

What might replace batteries in the future?

What will batteries look like in the future? Can they be entirely replaced? While we can’t say for certain, there are some interesting technologies that point to what the future could look like. Structural batteries are one such concept. They may seem like invisible batteries at first glance because they don’t exist outside of the structure of the system or technology they are powering. Instead, a structural battery is something like an airplane wing, a car body, or a phone case. They are very energy efficient, which makes them an appealing concept, especially for transportation. Whatever battery technology looks like in the future — or doesn’t look like, when it comes to hidden structural batteries — Amprius will remain at the forefront, innovating technologies that meet new levels of performance.