The Lithium/Air Battery: Still an Emerging System or a Practical Reality?

Abstract

gas. At the same time, the penetration of renewable energy sources has opened up the possibility of creating a CO 2 -neutral mobility system, where electric vehicles are powered by wind, hydro, and solar energy.Broad fi nancial efforts are being made at a governmental and industrial level to fund research into new areas of energy storage. The U.S. Department of Energy has allocated $20 million to energy storage research in 2012 and $15 million the following year, while the German government has committed itself to ¤200 million between 2011 and 2018; [ 1 ] similar schemes are also being promoted in Japan by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO). The EU-backed "Horizon 2020" program aims at funding research into energy storage technologies, a fi eld where the European Union lags behind the U.S. and East Asia. [ 2 ] Lithium-ion technology has established itself as a type of reliable energy-storage chemistry over the past 20 years, fi rst being used in camcorders, then mobile phones, laptops, and more recently electric cars. However, as the size of the battery pack increases, so does the belief that the cost per kW h and its energy density are not suitable for practical vehicle applications. The Tesla Model S, which sports a 400 km driving range, does so with a whopping 85 kW h battery pack that alone has up to twice the price of a standard economy car. With a current cost higher than 400 $ kW h −1 , electric cars have so far only entered a niche, high-end market where users are willing to pay a premium. Resizing the battery pack, and so the total cost of an electric car, results in a limited driving range (typically 100-150 km) that automatically restricts the use for long-haul journeys and triggers the so-called "range anxiety" feeling. For these reasons, the need to develop energy-storage technologies that enable at least a 500 km driving range, while retaining the same battery pack volume at an affordable price, is of primary interest for governments and car manufacturers. A Brief History of Lithium/Air BatteriesOver the years, the scientifi c community has focused its interest on advanced lithium-ion and fuel cells with only incremental improvements being made. Lithium-ion technology in particular is predicted to reach an asymptotic limit in specifi c Lithium/air is a fascinating energy storage system. The effective exploitation of air as a battery electrode has been the long-time dream of the battery community. Air is, in principle, a no-cost material characterized by a very high specifi c capacity value. In the particular case of the lithium/air system, energy levels approaching that of gasoline have been postulated. It is then not surprising that, in the course of the last decade, great attention has been devoted to this battery by various top academic and industrial laboratories worldwide. This intense investigation, however, has soon highlighted a series of issues that prevent a rapid development of the Li/air electrochemical system. Although several breakthroughs have be...

A Review of Solid Electrolyte Interphases on Lithium Metal Anode

“…Taking vehicle applications as an example, a non‐aqueous battery pack that weighs 300 kg or less will drive the vehicle if the battery can be with 140 kWh and a specific energy density of 500 Wh kg −k 1, 178. The 500 km range will effectively handle the “range anxiety” issue triggered by the short driving‐range.…”

Boosting the Electrocatalytic Activity of Co3O4 Nanosheets for a Li-O2 Battery through Modulating Inner Oxygen Vacancy and Exterior Co3+/Co2+ Ratio

“…[1][2][3][4][5] In comparison with Li-S, Zn-air, Al-air or Li-ion batteries, Li-air battery shows a much higher specific energy (~3600Wh kg -1 ) and attracts great interest. [5][6][7] However, the sluggish kinetics of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) on the cathode, and the resultant large overpotential, low energy efficiency, the inferior rate performance and the poor cycle life have critically impeded their practical applications in electric vehicles (EVs).…”

A Mini-Review on Non-Aqueous Lithium-Oxygen Batteries - Electrochemistry and Cathode Materials

“…To find a stable non-aqueous electrolyte is one of the major challenges facing the Li-O 2 battery technology. The carbonate-based electrolytes, which have been commonly used for Li-ion batteries, are known to be unstable in contact with carbon electrodes and superoxide radical (O 2 − ) generated during battery operation [15][16][17]. Other electrolytes based on ethers [18], sulfoxides [19], and ionic liquids [20] have been employed in Li-O 2 batteries so far; however, a truly stable electrolyte has not been demonstrated yet.…”