Recently, a little-known battery research and development company Saturnose released an Enhanced Altered Aluminum Ion (Ea2I) battery and plans to launch a solid-state rechargeable aluminum ion battery, which is expected to be commercialized in 2022.
How powerful are aluminum batteries?
Let's take a closer look at the test data that is enough to sling lithium batteries.
1. Super high energy density. Aluminum batteries can reach 600Wh/kg, while the current lithium iron phosphate battery is generally around 140Wh/kg, and only some ternary lithium batteries can exceed 200Wh/kg. This means that the energy density of this aluminum-ion battery is at least three times that of existing batteries, which no one can match. Let's take an example. A set of aluminum battery packs weighing 560 kilograms and having a power of 150 kilowatts can provide a cruising range of 1,200 kilometers.
2. Long service life. The aluminum battery can be charged and discharged 20,000 times. If it is charged once a day, it can be used continuously for 54 years. Maybe the car has run out. The aluminum ion battery is still good. In contrast, even the best lithium ion in the world has no more than 3000 charge and discharge cycles, which means that aluminum batteries have a longer working life. At the same time, this battery does not use nickel and cobalt, it will not explode as easily as current lithium batteries, and it is safer.
3. High charging efficiency. A 150-kilowatt battery pack can be fully charged in 1 minute, while a lithium battery of the same power can be fully charged in more than 15 minutes.
4. Adequate raw materials and low cost. The reserves of aluminum are abundant, and the production of aluminum batteries will no longer be restricted by raw materials. Lithium is a rare element. A set of lithium-ion batteries can cost tens of thousands. After 7 to 8 years, the lithium-ion batteries will be replaced once they have reached the end of their life. However, the price of aluminum ion batteries (Ea2I) will be only half of that of lithium ion batteries. Because aluminum ion batteries (Ea2I) have a long life, the car can be driven to scrap without replacement.
In such a comparison, aluminum ion electrons completely surpass lithium ion batteries
However, this is just the data in the laboratory. Although the data is very good, there is still a "blocker" in front of it-commercialization.
Successful commercialization is an important factor that ultimately determines whether this technology will work or not. There have been many experiences and lessons in history. Many seemingly good technologies, unfortunately, fell on the road to commercialization. Maybe it's the deviation of technology research and development from real demand, maybe mass production is impossible, or the cost just can't be lowered. But anyway, without successful commercialization, the best technology can only stay in the laboratory, let alone create wealth and benefit mankind.
What's the origin of Saturnose?
A strong company strength is indispensable for the ability to develop power batteries, so we deliberately checked the background of the aluminum battery company-Saturnose.
This is an Indian company that was only established in April this year. However, the aluminum battery project has been developed for 5 years. It was initially supported by Saudi Arabia's Dana Venture Fund (Dana Venture Fund) to provide two rounds of seed funding before the official announcement of the results.
The so-called terminator of lithium batteries should be more accurately called large aluminum capacitors. The picture on the company's official website has been modified with a few words from the previous picture in 2019, and there is no contact information.
To be honest, there are many companies researching next-generation power batteries, and their strengths are also very strong. None of Tesla, Panasonic, LG Chem, CATL, and BYD have made breakthroughs in aluminum electronic technology?
In fact, news about aluminum batteries has been around for a long time, and related articles have been published in 2015 and 2017.
From the perspective of the development needs of new energy, lithium batteries are currently the most mainstream battery, but lithium resources are always limited. After many years, it will repeat the fate of depletion of petroleum and coal. Therefore, it can be said that the search for new battery materials is in the future. Trend.
This has given a variety of new battery technologies a reason for hype. However, before any new technology is successfully commercialized, it is at best a hype of concepts and themes, and it is difficult to cause a huge wave.
Lithium batteries have just reached the maturity stage and are still far from recession. It is said that it is a bit early to be replaced. I dare not say what the future will be, but at least with the advancement of dual-carbon and the ever-increasing penetration rate of new energy vehicles in the future, the industry's high prosperity will continue to rise, and the future is still relatively certain.
As for the “menacing” aluminum battery, the actual performance will not be verified until the aluminum-ion solid-state battery is actually mass-produced. If the mass-produced products in the subsequent large-scale commercial phase continue to be as good as expected, then It can be regarded as a huge breakthrough in the battery industry.
Everything, only wait and see. Concluding remarks
With the intensification of global climate change, countries have set carbon neutrality targets in order to comply with human development standards. In this context, new energy has been pushed to the highest point in one fell swoop, especially new energy vehicles, which have also taken advantage of this momentum to climb to the cusp of the storm.
In terms of power, the global competition for new energy vehicles is actually a battle for batteries. Whoever masters the key core technologies will be able to take the lead in the new competition track and win the future.
Lithium batteries are currently the mainstream, but from time to time there are various new technologies in the market saying that lithium batteries, sodium ion batteries, and hydrogen energy should be used. Now there is another aluminum battery. After all, such a big business, who doesn’t want to be able to share A piece of pie?
But peeling off the coats of these challengers, you will find that the cowhide is often blown to the sky, but in fact it can't fall to the ground.
Because of the gap between the laboratory and the market.
The so-called aluminum battery is more like a scam.
