Lithium-ion batteries could recharge faster

Lithium-ion batteries could recharge faster

Charge time too long. This is what keeps a lot of motorists to cross the path of electricity. But with this discovery of American researchers, things could change. The charge of our lithium-ion batteries could become much less sensitive to the outside temperature.

The charging time of one of these batteries that equip electric cars, lithium-ion batteries, depends, among other things, on the outside temperature. Below 50° F, the charge can not be done quickly. This makes it difficult to penetrate such vehicles in markets such as Canada.

When the outside temperature is low, charging a lithium-ion battery should be done slowly to avoid premature battery damage. © Christian Schwier, Fotolia

But a team from Penn State (USA) today offers a solution: a self-heating lithium-ion battery. A thin sheet of nickel is attached to the negative terminal and protrudes outside the cell. A switch controlled by a temperature sensor allows, if necessary, to pass the electrons through the nickel sheet. This warms up and heats the inside of the battery. Once the right temperature is reached, the switch plays its role and the charge begins.

An internal heating system to the battery

The battery prototype presented by the researchers supports 4,500 charge cycles of 15 minutes at 32 ° F with a loss of capacity of only 20%. This equates to more than 280000 miles and a lifetime of some 12 years. Under the same temperature conditions, conventional batteries degrade after only 50 cycles, with lithium tending to tip on the surface of the anode.

The other advantage is that these self-heating batteries can, without any difficulty, be loaded on existing stations. And researchers promise that they will allow manufacturers to produce smaller, lighter, safer batteries.