Lithium-ion batteries have been highly popular in the industry for several years now. They have high energy density and are quite reliable. However, since lithium is not available in unlimited supply and is becoming scarcer day by day, lithium-ion batteries are getting expensive. With lithium-ion, there’s also a risk of the batteries catching fire and bursting into flames.
So, the need for more economical, safe, and high-capacity batteries is increasing. And fortunately, researchers at MIT believe that they have designed the perfect alternative to lithium-ion batteries. According to reports, a team of MIT researchers has developed a new battery technology that will help them develop batteries made from budget-friendly and abundant materials, including Aluminum, salt, and Sulfur.
The MIT team conducted a lot of research and several trials and errors regarding the materials for the new battery type. They finally decided on Aluminum and Sulfur which are cheap and will deliver high performance. The new batteries have one electrode made from Aluminum while the other electrode will be of Sulfur. It will be topped off with a molten chloro-aluminate salt electrolyte.
The excellent thing about these new batteries is that along with being inexpensive; they are also fire-resistant and quick to charge. There is no risk of them catching fire or exploding. This makes these new batteries suitable for home appliances and electric devices.
A spin-off company called Avanti has licensed the patents for this incredibly promising battery technology. The first order of business for Avanti is to build and demonstrate that the batteries work at scale and conduct a series of stress tests on them.
