Electrek revealed earlier this month that Tesla’s battery research unit located in Canada issued a document that discusses a battery architecture that might serve us for 100 years.
Countries all across the world are striving to minimize carbon emissions, and one method to do so is through electric mobility. Countries must adapt to renewable energy sources, and electric vehicle manufacturers must keep their vehicles from becoming a safety hazard.
The partnership between Tesla and the world’s leading battery technology company is a major step forward for the company.
Jeff Dahn, one of the world’s foremost specialists in battery technology, has joined forces with Elon Musk’s Tesla. Dahn has been working on lithium-ion batteries, which power the majority of modern electronic products since the technology was first developed.
As a result of Dahn’s work at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada, Tesla established its Advanced Battery Research section there. Li-ion batteries’ commercial success is largely attributed to Dahn’s work on improving their cycle life.
Dahn has been trying to improve the energy density and durability of these batteries since they became a huge success and the cornerstone for electric vehicles.
How much energy does a battery hold?
The energy density refers to how much energy may be stored in a given amount of fuel, measured in units of volume. An electric vehicle’s range may be determined using this statistic. To go a given distance, a battery with a lower energy density would require a larger battery pack. Because of this, an electric vehicle’s range anxiety can be alleviated by using a battery that is denser in energy.
In terms of energy density, fossil fuels, such as gasoline, are the most energy-dense known to humans, whereas man-made battery packs are fewer than 100 times more energy-dense. Fossil-fuel pollution has been too significant to ignore, and we must continue to improve battery technology.
According to Electrek, Dahn’s work in this area has already resulted in several patents and articles for Tesla. In comparison to currently used lithium-ion batteries, a novel form of battery cell was recently described in an article published in the Journal of The Electrochemical Society.
It discusses a battery chemistry that includes nickel, bringing high energy density to the table, which can assure a longer range for electric cars. Interestingly, when charged at varied temperatures, these batteries outlast li-ion batteries. Battery life might be extended to more than 100 years if the battery is utilized at a temperature of 25 degrees at all times, according to the report.
Nickel batteries containing cobalt have been utilized in the past. Even while there was some concern about cobalt in their novel battery design, the researchers discovered that it worked just as well with minimal or no cobalt in it.
Tesla’s recent decision to extend its relationship with Dahn’s firm through 2026 comes as no surprise. In the future, we may anticipate Tesla to outperform expectations in terms of range.