Revolutionary Battery Tech Promises Less Charging Time, More Energy Storage

What determines the cycle life of batteries? And, more importantly, how can we extend it? An international research team led by TU Delft has discovered that local disorder in the oxide cathode material increases the number of times Li-ion batteries can be charged and discharged. Their results have been published in Nature.

Unstable electrode
Rechargeable batteries are a key ingredient of the energy transition, especially now that more and more renewable energy is becoming available. Among the many types of rechargeable batteries, Li-ion batteries are among the most powerful and widely used ones. To electrically connect them, layered oxides are often used as electrodes. However, their atomic structure becomes unstable when the battery is being charged. This ultimately affects the battery cycle life.