Editors: | F. Kongoli, M. de Campos |
Publisher: | Flogen Star OUTREACH |
Publication Year: | 2018 |
Pages: | 184 pages |
ISBN: | 978-1-987820-96-6 |
ISSN: | 2291-1227 (Metals and Materials Processing in a Clean Environment Series) |
General trends in battery research and development are discussed. The renewable energy industry, such as solar and wind, will increase the demand for rechargeable batteries in a near future. Other possibilities for energy storage are also discussed, as for example the fly-wheel, and hydro energy storage. For large scale batteries, the Vanadium redox type is considered as possibly the most promising. For vehicles, however, energy density is very important. Lithium ion batteries of the NMC type (N = Nickel, M = magnese and C= Cobalt) have been preferred for electric cars. For trucks and buses, batteries of the lithium iron phosphate have been used, especially in China. Batteries of the Ni-M-H have been gradually falling to disuse now (Ni = Nickel, M= metal as lanthanum and H is hydrogen). Nickel cadmium batteries are now considered obsolete.
The mild-hybrid cars will increase the demand for batteries, but a big issue still is the cost of batteries [1]. There is a trend to avoid batteries based on heavy metals as cadmium. However, due to cost reasons, the market of lead acid batteries is still the largest in rechargeable batteries. Fast charging is also one of the most relevant issues of batteries today. Some companies, however, already announced solutions for fast charging, one of which involves high voltage charging.