These new types of batteries would not only reduce the US's dependence on countries that export cobalt and lithium but would also be able to prevent battery-related fires.
“There would be no battery fires any more because it's water-based,” said chemical engineering professor Dr Jodie Lutkenhaus. “In the future, if materials shortages are projected, the price of lithium-ion batteries will go way up.
"If we have this alternative battery, we can turn to this chemistry, where the supply is much more stable because we can manufacture them here in the United States and materials to make them are here.”
Water-based batteries consist of a cathode, an electrolyte and an anode. The cathodes and anodes are polymers that can store energy, and the electrolyte is water mixed with organic salts.
The electrolyte is key to ion conduction and energy storage through its interactions with the electrode, and the team's recent research indicates that the choice...