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Tech Nuggets: Advancing the chemistries of battery

As a chemical engineer, I am closely following the developments and advances in battery technologies, especially for use in EVs. Many research groups are using different materials in the periodic table as an alternative to lithium.

Several electric vehicle battery chemistries are emerging as electric cars .Scientists, battery companies and automakers are trying to develop safe batteries built with accessible materials that enable long driving range and fast charging.

They are working to pack more energy into batteries and cut their expense. This is because batteries is the most expensive component of an EV, adding about US$10,000 more to the cost when compared with a combustion engine powertrain. That expense discourages consumer adoption of EVs and manufacturers are forced to provide incentives to buyers, resulting in lower profit margins of automakers.

Globally, about 60 percent of electric vehicles rely on lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide, or NMC, batteries, according to the International Energy Agency. Though others are in production, NMC chemistry batteries account for most of the EVs sold in the U.S. Lithium iron phosphate, or LFP, batteries are a growing alternative. They are less expensive and account for about 30 percent of EVs, mostly from China.

The cost and energy density challenges presented by current battery chemistries are pushing companies to seek alternatives that are cheaper. They also need to be safe and ideally would be durable, powerful and suitable for domestic mass production.

“There are a bunch of potentially promising alternatives to lithium ion batteries,” said Jeremy Michalek, director of the vehicle electrification group at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. “But all of them have engineering challenges, and potentially some of them have cost challenges.”

Collectively, the industry is researching new chemistries and different ways to physically construct battery cells.

Many believe solid-state battery cells are the holy grail for safe, long-range, fast-charging EV batteries, but until that technology is commercialized, companies are developing alternatives. Here are a few.

New options

Sodium ion: Battery developers are testing sodium chemistries because sodium is less expensive, more abundant and more easily mined than lithium, according to the Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory. The lab patented a cathode material that replaces lithium ions with sodium. The group estimates that a sodium ion battery would cost a third less than a lithium ion battery, and the sodium ion cell also contains manganese and iron, which are widely available. A short driving range is the downside to sodium ion, the lab said. Sodium metal is about three times heavier than lithium, which adds to the battery weight and limits range.

At least two Chinese companies have announced plans for EVs powered by sodium ion batteries, but “the jury is still out in the West,” said Conrad Layson, senior alternative propulsion analyst at AutoForecast Solutions.

Australia, Chile and China continue to dominate lithium production, according to a BP analysis of data from the U.S. Geological Survey and British Geological Survey World Mining Data. Sodium is plentiful in the U.S., said Reeja Jayan, associate professor of mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University.

“It is an evolving battery chemistry so there’s a good chance to establish yourself better in that area,” she said.

Lithium manganese iron phosphate: Manganese, iron and phosphate are generally affordable and available. This chemistry blends the best of nickel cobalt manganese cells with the best of lithium iron phosphate cells, said Nathan Niese, global lead for electric vehicles and energy storage at Boston Consulting Group. The lifespan is shorter than a lithium iron phosphate cell, but energy density is higher, he said.

Lithium sulfur: Lithium sulfur chemistries have a relatively high energy density and can charge quickly, Layson said. Sulfur is extremely abundant and inexpensive, compared with the cobalt and nickel needed for the nickel cobalt manganese aluminum chemistries used in EVs today, according to the Argonne National Laboratory. Lyten, a lithium sulfur battery supplier, said its batteries will launch this year in nonautomotive applications such as drones and satellites. Long term, lithium sulfur cells could cost half as much as the nickel cobalt manganese chemistries used in today’s EVs and with potentially double the energy density, Lyten said.

Solid-state advancements

Automakers and battery makers consider solid-state batteries as a key technology. They are investing in the technology that is expected to enhance range, charging speed and safety.

Semisolid state batteries offer similar benefits and are closer to commercialization.

The semisolid options have small amounts of liquid or gel that quickly diffuse ions to charge and discharge an EV battery. Traditional lithium ion batteries are flooded with liquid electrolytes, which are more fire prone.

Many companies are trying to commercialize semisolid or solid-state technology for the U.S. market.

QuantumScape, a California company backed by Volkswagen and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, has developed a ceramic electrolyte technology that eliminates dendrite-forming graphite anode . China controls the bulk of the global supply of battery-quality graphite.

QuantumScape expects to begin high-volume production of cells for advanced testing in 2025, said Asim Hussain, the company’s CMO. QuantumScape and PowerCo. — Volkswagen Group’s battery company — partnered to industrialize QuantumScape’s technology.

Partnering is the fastest way to achieve gigawatt-hour-scale production, the companies said. Depending on the progress of the partnership, QuantumScape will license PowerCo. to mass produce battery cells based on the QuantumScape technology platform.

Factorial, a semisolid battery developer, delivered test samples to Mercedes-Benz in June. 2024. The testing includes validating the module and pack designs against Mercedes-Benz’s performance specifications. Factorial also has joint development agreements with Stellantis, Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp.

Solid Power, a Colorado company backed by and working with Ford, BMW and Hyundai among others, is pursuing the same sulfide electrolyte technology as Toyota.

Chinese companies also are pushing hard on solid-state battery development.

Solid-state technology is advancing quickly, QuantumScape CEO Siva Sivaram told Automotive News. Industrialization is the next step.

“It is not ‘Can I do it?’ It is ‘Can I do it in volume and scale and deliver to customers?’ ” Sivaram said. “There are many steps between here and there.”

Conclusion

The chemistries of batteries are advancing very quickly. Many companies in the US, Europe, Japan and China are racing to be the first to develop new batteries with high energy density that can be produced cheaply with safer operations. Those successes will ensure a greener environment for us, our children, our grandchildren and future generations.

However, many of us continue to drive powerful cars with higher consumption of expensive petrol and diesel. In Malaysia’s case, the efforts of the Malaysian government to eliminate diesel subsidies created negative comments from ta large section of the Malaysian population, citing inflation would become high, which now stands at about 2.0 per cent.

Reference:

Hannah Lutz. Viable alternatives join solid-state advances. Automotive News. Vol. 98, Issue 7156. August 19th, 2024.

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The science of baldness and treatment

Many years ago, I came across an inventor who had developed a helmet contraption that can treat baldness. I asked him to explain the workings of the helmet, but he refused. He said that he did not want to reveal this. I did not think the helmet contraction worked as I saw only a tiny of small hair follicles growing on his scalp..

He did convince me that the market for his helmet contraption was huge.  The fear of going bald is something that weighs on the minds, and scalps, of millions of men around the world.

Recently, a group of scientists from the UK and Pakistan have found a potential cure for male pattern baldness.

Researchers from the University of Sheffield and COMSATS University Pakistan discovered that a sugar which occurs naturally in our bodies can stimulate hair growth in mice.

The sugar, 2-deoxy-D-ribose (2dDR), was just as effective at restoring hair to the balding rodents as commercially available drug minoxidil, also known as Rogaine, the drug owned by Johnson and Johnson.

Professor Sheila MacNeil, of the University of Sheffield, says: ‘This could offer another approach to treating this condition which can affect men’s self-image and confidence.’

The researchers had not originally set out to find a cure for baldness, but were rather investigating whether the sugar 2dDR could help improve wound healing.

When applied to the skin in the form of a gel, the sugar triggers increased growth of blood vessels which they hoped would cause cuts to close faster.

However, they soon noticed that the mice’s hair grew back much faster in the areas around the wound where the gel had been applied.

Intrigued, the research team decided to conduct an experiment to determine whether 2dDR could have an effect on male pattern baldness.

Mice were treated with testosterone to induce ‘testosterone-driven hair loss’ which is similar to male pattern balding in humans.

The researchers found that, after 20 days of treatment, both the sugar gel and minoxidil had promoted 80 to 90 per cent hair regrowth in mice with male pattern baldness.

Combining the two treatments, however, led to no noticeable improvements.

Professor MacNeil says: ‘Our research suggests that the answer to treating hair loss might be as simple as using a naturally occurring deoxy ribose sugar to boost the blood supply to the hair follicles to encourage hair growth.’

Male pattern baldness, or androgenic alopecia, is believed to affect between 40 and 50 per cent of men worldwide.

The condition is caused by a combination of genetic factors and levels of sex hormones which gradually lead to the permanent loss of hair follicles on the head.

Other research has recently suggested that the body’s ‘integrated stress response’ could lead to slowing hair growth and hair loss.

A follicle cell may become stressed, for example, as it ages and becomes less able to properly produce hair, slowing down growth.

And when the mechanism is over-activated, the hair follicle can even die and put a stop to any future growth.

However, as Professor MacNeil points out, ‘at the moment there are only two FDA licensed drugs to treat it.’

Patients can use the topical treatment minoxidil, sold as Rogaine, which can be slow and does not work for everyone suffering from hair loss.

Those who do not see improvements with minoxidil can also take the oral drug Finasteride, sold as Propecia, which works by decreasing the flow of testosterone.

However, this must be taken continuously once started and can be associated with severe side effects such as erectile dysfunction, testicular pain, reduced libido, and depression.

The researchers hope that their breakthrough with 2dDR sugar gels could provide a safer, naturally occurring alternative to these treatments.

he sugar 2dDR occurs naturally in the body as one of the components of the building blocks of our DNA – helping to form the deoxyribose part of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).

And, instead of altering the level of sex hormones like Finasteride, the treatment simply works by increasing the amount of blood which can reach the hair follicles.

In tests, the researchers found that this treatment caused the individual hair follicles to sprout long, thick, healthy hairs.

Professor Muhammed Yar, of COMSATS University Pakistan, says: ‘This pro-angiogenic deoxy ribose sugar is naturally occurring, inexpensive and stable.

‘This makes it an attractive candidate to explore further for treatment of hair loss in men.’

I hope this new discovery for treating baldness will benefit millions of men (as well as women), including me. When I met the inventor, I have a full crop of bushy hair,

Reference: Wiliam Hunter. Daily Mail, UK, July 25th, 2024.