Swedish researchers claim to have overcome the electric car's biggest challenge – namely the range. The secret, say the researchers, is a new type of electrode made using 3D-created X-rays.
Swedish researchers claim to have overcome the electric car's biggest challenge – namely the range. The secret is a new type of electrode.
The electrode was invented at the Technical University of Gothenburg. Instead of graphite electrodes, the researchers have used lithium metal electrodes. This enables a lower weight at the same time as a much higher energy density in the battery pack itself.
Lithium metal electrodes have been used without much success. This is simply because the metal in the electrode reacts with its surroundings and thus decays.
But not anymore. The researchers in Sweden have looked into the battery pack using 3D-created X-rays. By placing the electrode inside the battery, you can prevent it from reacting with everything else outside.
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– We work in a very inert (closed, ed.) environment.
– But even there the metal finds something to react with, and a surface layer is formed that affects how the metal behaves in the battery, explains Josef Rizell, who is a PhD student at the university's physics department and author of the research article behind the experiment. in a statement .
The question then is what the discovery will be used for. However, the Swedish researchers believe that they have laid the foundations that others can build on.
– We have laid the foundation for future discoveries within sustainable development. Batteries are already a decisive part of development, and their decisive importance will only become greater in the future, says the Swedes.
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