A new direction for battery development? Lithium-sulfur batteries

From mobile phones to computers to cars, lithium batteries are almost everywhere in our lives. So how will battery technology develop in the future? The Economist introduces a new direction: lithium-sulfur batteries.

The working principle of lithium-sulfur battery is similar to that of lithium battery, but sulfur is used instead of heavy metal. Sulfur has more oxidation ability than metal and with the help of sulfur's characteristics, lithium-sulfur battery has four to five times the energy storage capacity of lithium battery of the same mass. More importantly, sulfur is very cheap as an industrial raw material.

However, lithium-sulfur batteries also have inherent weaknesses. For example, the electrodes of lithium-sulfur batteries will gradually dissolve into the electrolyte. In addition, during the charge and discharge cycle of lithium batteries, some metallic lithium will be deposited to form long filaments called "dendrites", which will cause the battery to short-circuit and pose a safety hazard.

Many academic teams are conducting specific research on lithium-sulfur batteries. A researcher at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the United States has developed a solid electrolyte to solve the dissolution problem. At the same time, the lithium deposition problem can be solved by adding carbon electrodes. A researcher at Stanford University plans to use a carbon-60 structure to solve this problem. A researcher at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in the United States is studying the use of a lithium-based graphene solution. OXIS Energy at the University of Oxford is trying to use another newly discovered single-atom-thick lithium-based graphene solution.

Currently, Nissan's "LEAF" lithium battery can store 140Whr of energy per kilogram, OXIS's lithium-sulfur battery can reach more than 300Whr, and the company plans to increase this number to 500Whr/kg by 2018.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.