China seems to be leading the way in battery development, with recent announcements of increased energy density solid-state batteries, and batteries that can last for close to a million miles of service. The two companies are reporting batteries already in service or close to being released to the public.
Tailan New Energy Doubles Down
Reporting in Electrek, Scooter Doll reports Tailan New Energy has announced vehicle-grade all-solid-state lithium batteries with energy density “twice that of other cells in the segment.” Only six years old, the firm has taken a leading role in the battery industry. The Energy Viking reports further.
Tailan has achieved a 120 Amp-hour solid-state battery cell using “ultra-thin and dense composite oxide solid electrolytes, high-capacity advanced positive and negative electrode materials, and an integrated molding process.” Housing an energy density of 720 Watt-hours per kilogram, twice that of other batteries installed in passenger electric vehicles in China, these new cells could effectively double the mileage per charge.
A great deal of the improved performance comes from in-house developed materials. The positive electrode, for instance, is made of “high-gram capacity, lithium-rich manganese-based material.” The negative electrode comprises “an ultra-wide and ultra-thin lithium composite,” and the electrolyte is a “high-performance oxide composite” material.
One aspect that normally interferes with, or impedes the flow of electrons in solid state batteries, interface impedance is defined by Tailan as, “The impedance or resistance at the interface between different materials or components in a battery.” Their “proprietary high-performance oxide composite solid-state electrolyte” somehow overcomes this and enables free flow of ions between those different materials.
If the firm’s claims are demonstrated, electric vehicles will travel twice as far for a given weight of batteries or be much lighter – a current concern because the high weight of EVs causes excess tire wear and counters some of the savings otherwise experienced by EV owners.
To better understand Tailan’s claims, go to their company web site.
A Million Mile Battery from CATL
Wikipedia on CATL: Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited, abbreviated as CATL, is a Chinese battery manufacturer and technology company founded in 2011 that specializes in the manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage systems,
CATL has released a battery pack with up to a nearly 1 million mile (1.5 million km) lifetime and a 15-year warranty. Partnered with Yutong Bus Company, CATL’s batteries will power commercial vehicles like buses and different classes of trucks. The promised 932,000 (1.5 million kilometer) range and 15-year warranty should enable batteries to outlast the vehicles in which they are installed.
Interestingly, the bus manufacturer also introduced another battery with a 10-year and 621,000 (1 million km) lifespan, perhaps with a different pricing structure.
Dominating almost a third of the world’s total EV battery market, CATL can have tremendous influence on world supplies. China has an also dominant position on rare earth minerals for instance, although a recent find in Montana of a huge deposit of the “highest grade” elements may loosen China’s hold on the market. Augmenting this find and having a tremendous potential effect on battery supplies, the discovery of an immense supply of lithium in the McDermitt Caldera. a large area shared by southern Oregon and northern Nevada may shift power in the world market. According to NevadaCurrent.com, the deposit, “Contains more than double the concentration of lithium than any other bed of clay globally, around 20 to 40 million metric tons in total.” An example of nature throwing the world economy a curve, it would be judicious on our part to exploit these new gifts.
McDermitt Lithium deposit could be twice that of all the lithium in Bolivia
An Editorial Aside
China could achieve electric vehicle dominance with BYD, Geely, NIO, Xpeng and almost one hundred other manufacturers vying for a chunk of the world market. America, in the meantime, continues to underwrite major oil companies with literally trillions in subsidies, including the deployment of our military to defend the sea routes plied by domestic and foreign oil producers. Battery research occasionally receives a few millions’ pittance and auto dealers often seem reluctant to embrace the new technology, even though it is becoming an ever more important part of world commerce. Your editor thinks it’s time to shift gears, to use a soon-to-be outmoded phrase.
Xpeng’s modular flying car and its carrier represent a “Transformer-” like possible future vehicle
Your editor’s not sure if the illustration is an example of an all-electric future, but it does show Chinese firms are not waiting to find out. Xpeng spin-off HT Aero is showing possible renderings of a combined electric carrier and eVTOL, certain to be in the wish books of the the future. The fact that a not-so-rich nation is waving this carrot in front of its people is a possible warning that the U. S. has much to learn while we apparently hold back the forces of innovation and progress.