There’s additionally rising concern about fires began by e-bikes in New York Metropolis. These fires, which will be lethal, have largely been attributable to bikes that aren’t repaired appropriately or use substandard batteries, highlighting the necessity for regulation and tight high quality management of batteries.
What it comes all the way down to is that this: lithium-ion batteries can catch hearth. It doesn’t occur usually, and there are a lot of, many security controls that may be put in place to handle the chance successfully. However some battery makers wish to construct options that can’t catch hearth within the first place.
Watering it down
Lithium-ion chemistry has been optimized over a long time to pack lots of power right into a small, light-weight gadget and ship lots of energy.
A part of that optimization is within the liquid electrolyte: commonplace lithium-based batteries use natural solvents combined with salts to shuttle cost round. Theoretically, batteries can use water because the solvent, however they normally don’t. That’s for a reasonably good cause: the excessive voltage widespread in lithium-ion batteries, which is required to ship excessive energy, can pull water aside into hydrogen and oxygen.
However in the case of enormous storage installations on the grid, there’s a distinct stability to strike. Somewhat than specializing in packing numerous power right into a small battery, researchers and firms need above all to decrease the batteries’ price.
So batteries destined for storage on the grid could make some compromises. They may not must cost and discharge so shortly, and it’s much less essential to get them as small and light-weight as potential.
That opens up the opportunity of utilizing heavier supplies, like iron and zinc. And with decrease energy and decrease voltages wanted, firms can use water with salts combined in as an electrolyte. That would assist save on prices, make the batteries simpler to fabricate, and likewise assist with security. You’d in all probability have a tough time setting water-based batteries on hearth, even when you tried.
Some firms are leaning into the advantages of utilizing water of their various batteries as they begin to make progress towards commercialization.