Researchers from Zhejiang University in China have developed a safe, flexible, fast-charging aluminum-graphene battery. The team's design relies on using graphene films as the anode and metallic aluminum as the cathode. It was reported that the battery could work well after quarter-million cycles and can be fully charged in seconds.
Experiments showed that the battery retains 91% of its original capacity after 250,000 recharges, surpassing all the previous batteries in terms of cycle life. In quick-charge mode, the battery can be fully charged in 1.1 seconds, according to the team. The assembled battery also works well in temperatures range of minus 40 to 120 degrees Celsius. It can be folded, and does not explode when exposed to fire.
However, the aluminum-ion battery cannot compete with commonly-used Li-ion batteries in terms of energy density, or the amount of power you can store in a battery in relation to the size. "It is still costly to make such battery. Commercial production of the battery can only be possible until we can find cheaper electrolyte," the researchers said.
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Posted: Dec 24,2017 by Roni Peleg