A research team from Serbia is developing multivalent-ion batteries. They will be able to replace the use of lithium-ion batteries, which will contribute to making them cheaper and more environmentally friendly in production.
As reported by eKapija, the research team is gathered around the HiSuperBat project, which is financed within the PROMIS program of the Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia, which is intended for young researchers.
Lithium-ion batteries have so far been the best solution when it comes to storing large amounts of renewable energy.
We can find them everywhere: from mobile phones to laptops to electric cars.
However, the production of lithium-ion batteries comes with challenges, from limited lithium resources, to expensive and less safe production that can have a significant negative impact on the environment.
This is precisely why the researchers of the HiSuperBat project, led by Dr. Milica Vujković from the Faculty of Physical Chemistry in Belgrade, are developing more accessible and safer alternatives.
It concerns the development of batteries based on multivalent ions such as calcium, magnesium and aluminum ions.
Multivalent-ion batteries enable cheaper, simpler and safer production, and thus the price of these batteries, because they are elements that are much more available in nature and whose production is safer.
Using an innovative approach, the HiSuperBat project will develop new and cost-effective high-capacity electrode materials for their application in calcium, magnesium or aluminum-ion batteries.
In this sense, the key issues related to low energy storage capacity will be solved. Also, the researchers will develop a hybrid coin-shaped battery model that does not contain lithium or flammable toxic electrolyte.
The idea of lithium exploitation in Serbia by the company Rio Tinto met with great resistance from the public in Serbia, after which their project “Jadar”, which was supposed to be implemented in the vicinity of Loznica, was suspended.
