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Lithium Sulphur Batteries Breakthrough


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Well, is the dream of all electric powered modellers about to come true?

 

I heard about this on the ABC (Australian) news yesterday and it looks promising.

 

By adding a teaspoon of sugar to a LiS battery the end result is a lighter battery with up to five times the storage capacity of the same weight LiPo.

 

Looks promising and quite proud that this was developed here in the Land Down Under.

 

https://newatlas.com/energy/sugar-doped-lithium-sulfur-battery-capacity/

 

chris

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Add it to the list… ?

 

https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?1188429-Some-company-announces-groundbreaking-new-battery-again

 

There is a story like this roughly every other week with a different group of researchers claiming a breakthrough, but they are always “early results” and almost always focus on one specific characteristic I.e. capacity increase, cycle life increase, better charge rate etc. The problem is to make a battery that is better in all respects (or at least as good as the current chemistries in the areas that aren’t improved) is exceptionally hard, hence the reason we are still likely to be using variants on li-ion for the foreseeable future.

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Sodium Ion batteries might be the way forward https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/technology-news/under-skin-get-ready-sea-change-ev-battery-technology and the company that makes batteries for Tesla and VW plans to start manufacture of EV Sodium Ion batteries in 2023, https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/catls-new-sodium-ion-battery-help-ease-lithium-shortages-2021-08-03/ as demand for Lithium will out strip supplies.

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  • 5 months later...
On 20/09/2021 at 20:54, Simon Chaddock said:

I hate to think of the safety considerations with 5 times the energy density of a LiPo. 

It does rather beg questions of safety doesnt it, but i suppose five times the density doesnt necessarily mean five time the energy on the bench, just a battery a 5th the size and the same energy.  Presumably that would enable them to be better protected and arguably safer.  Im never too nervous about my phone or ipad but i keep and charge my lipos outside.  Maybe that will change.

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Over the years there have been a lot of " miraculous break throughs" in battery technology  but where are they. Believe it when you can buy one and see if it really lives up to the claims. The sceptic in me reckons it's a carrot being used by a group or a wise guy to get investment for an idea ? 

When it finally comes the break through in battery technology will be very hush hush until its tried tested and patented up to the eyeballs then snapped up by the military .

Remember the brilliant "break throughs" on BBC s Tomorrow's World most were never seen again.

 

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9 minutes ago, Engine Doctor said:

Over the years there have been a lot of " miraculous break throughs" in battery technology  but where are they.

 

Have a look at the current generation of lithium based batteries - that's where they are. 

Previously it was NiCd, followed by NiMh. 

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51 minutes ago, PatMc said:

Have a look at the current generation of lithium based batteries - that's where they are. 

Previously it was NiCd, followed by NiMh. 

 

Agreed, but I think his point was that Lipos have been around a long time now - since the mid/late 90s - and the Lithium ion family as a whole is even older than that. 25 years on they remain the best available chemistry we have in terms of energy density, showing just how hard it is to develop improved commercial battery technologies.

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But before NiCd the rechargeable options were extremely limited beyond lead acid except some very expensive versions of alkaline cells. In practical terms, for the vast majority of people, rechargeable cells were limited to versions of 19th century technology. Most battery powered consumer items used lead acid primary cells well into the 3rd quarter of the 20th century when alkaline primary cells started to become produced economically.

 

In a nutshell a century of glacial paced improvements to battery technology followed by a series of " miraculous break throughs" in battery technology since around the 1970's & these have been at ever increasing pace largely driven by, or spin offs from, the aero-space industry.

Edited by PatMc
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On 01/03/2022 at 12:55, PatMc said:

But before NiCd the rechargeable options were extremely limited beyond lead acid except some very expensive versions of alkaline cells. In practical terms, for the vast majority of people, rechargeable cells were limited to versions of 19th century technology. Most battery powered consumer items used lead acid primary cells well into the 3rd quarter of the 20th century when alkaline primary cells started to become produced economically.

 

In a nutshell a century of glacial paced improvements to battery technology followed by a series of " miraculous break throughs" in battery technology since around the 1970's & these have been at ever increasing pace largely driven by, or spin offs from, the aero-space industry.

That may be, but the main push was and is from the telecommunications market. Personal communication, coupled with the internet seems to be the be-all and end-all these days.

The 20th century will be remembered for the internal combustion engine. The 21st century will probably be remembered for electronics technology (or the end of the world).

:classic_smile:

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37 minutes ago, Tim Kearsley said:

Then again, if you read Wikipedia's item about the sinking of the Felicity Ace, it states that, despite media stories, it is unproven that an electric vehicle battery was the cause of the fire.

Arrrrrrr, but given Wikipedia edit policy, in the short term, fake news can exist.

Answer will be, where started, fuel source for fire? Standard question, standard answer. 
But, as you say, batteries don’t normally self ignite when just standing, but then again, new batteries, in new machines, are less to be trusted. But, I bet the fire was in the cargo, for no other reason, the crew wander round the ship, but have no need or reason to go near the cargo. 
Pity, I would look right nice sticking out of a Porsche. Big one, rear wheel drive.

 

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55 minutes ago, Don Fry said:

Morris 1000 grey would do.

Which one ?

I remember painting them and over the years there were many different variations.

Couldn't find a grumpy old man smiley, so this will have to do.

old-emoticon-mascot-vector-cartoon-illustration-original-character-old-emoticon-mascot-vector-cartoon-illustration-113901035.jpg

Edited by kevin b
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2 hours ago, kevin b said:

That may be, but the main push was and is from the telecommunications market. Personal communication, coupled with the internet seems to be the be-all and end-all these days.

The 20th century will be remembered for the internal combustion engine. The 21st century will probably be remembered for electronics technology (or the end of the world).

:classic_smile:

The development of the telecom market, including personal comms, from mid 1970's was largely a spin off from the aerospace industry. But the topic I was commenting on was the periodic breakthroughs & increased pace of development of battery technology.

 

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Battery technology has greatly advanced since the days when we used to charge 2v lead acid accumulators that were used for the valve heaters of the radios our customers used during and for a time after the war - many people only had gas lighting in our town.  However, I can't help feeling the current astonishing break throughs which seem to figure in the news from time to time are similar to those claiming nuclear fusion is just around the corner - the 10 year wait seems to be a constant.

 

 

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