Lithium Ion Batteries - ongoing research.
I read this morning of the ongoing research into Lithium Ion Batteries. Hundreds of laboratories throughout the world are working on the capacity and charging times of this new technology. A breakthrough from any one of these labs can mean untold wealth for the company involved. As a lithium Ion Phosphate Battery user I am always interested in anything that changes the game in this technology. Here is the first few paragraphs of the report. Exciting where it will lead don’t you think?
Lithium ion batteries may soon be able to charge much faster thanks to what seems like a simple substitution of one mineral for another in the battery’s cathode.
Researchers from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute this month announced they had achieved much faster charging rates in lithium ion batteries by replacing the usual cobalt oxide used together with lithium in the cathode with vanadium disulfide.
“It gives you higher energy density, because it’s light. And it gives you faster charging capability, because it’s highly conductive. From those points of view, we were attracted to this material,” said Nikhil Koratkar, the lead author of the study.
The researcher added that improving the electrodes was the way to making lithium ion batteries perform even better.
It seems lithium ion batteries’ dominance will be hard to break with so much work being put into improving these batteries. Koratkar’s team’s work is only the latest example of this work, but there are scores of labs around the world looking for the same ultimate reward: maximizing the performance of the world’s dominant battery technology before a viable alternative really makes it out of another lab.
Recently, the race to reduce charging times for EV batteries specifically heated up as new superchargers came on the scene with few batteries capable of actually using them without getting fried in the process.
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A race to replace fossil fuels, we do live in exciting times. It could herald the end of airborne pollution in cities & countless deaths. I’m a fan of progress👍🏻👏🏻👏🏻😊
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Interesting :-
www.wired.co.uk/article/lithium-batteries-environment-impact
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But needed for the survival of many species including ours, as was eminently shown by David Attenborough’s prog last night.
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Hopefully the solution is out there. What is called for is continued and conserted effort to find the most enronronmental answers.
May be, just may be, seaweed is the way.
Who knows, we just need to keep at it.
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DD, I have a reply and I post it in full. Perhaps you would be good enough to supply the details asked for. ie the number? 🤣
Please ask which e-mark he’s referring to: ask him for the number. There are directives which refer to electro-magnetic compatibility and, of course, all the batteries that we sell comply – certificate attached. NDS is the largest supplier of batteries in Italy and, if they are selling a battery (and, in the case of the lithium batteries, designing and getting them manufactured as well) you can be sure that they comply with the regs.
Mining of lithium is a controversial topic and there are places in the world where it is mined in conditions that are less than ideal, as is also the case with cobalt and rare earth minerals which are essential for use in phones and many other products. End of life disposal is an issue but we are now working with a British company who are not only making LiFePO4 batteries in the UK but are also committed to re-purposing them when they can no longer be used as, for example, leisure batteries. They are also working with government and private agencies to enable total recycling of lithium batteries.
Nuclear power is a carbon-free method of electricity generation but there’s definitely an issue with dealing with the waste. Nothing’s perfect except, maybe, nuclear fusion!
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The whole battery technology thing has had my blood pressure at a very high level for quite a long time now - I won't go into detail, even if only for the sake of my own sanity - and probably your glazed expressions.
The attached link may be of interest to anyone thinking about replacing or using different types of batteries.
http://www.aandncaravanservices.co.uk/lithium-batteries.php
The site will also give great insight into anything caravan/motorhome electrics related. For anyone who doesn't know of them, they are a very experienced and highly respected repairer of caravan and motorhome electrics. They have not shrunk from taking on the battery manufacturers and the NCC, as well.
Will
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Thanks for your reply DD. I am in touch with the manufacturers in Italy and will let you know as soon as I get something back. As was said before, all standards and regs will have been complied with I will get the horses mouth to say it as it were! My battery is not a ReLion it’s a Lion made by NDS as supplied by Roadpro for your information.
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It appears DD has much knowledge, it would be great if it could shared with us!
Is this what its all about?
EU certification (referred to as EC), the e-Mark: e-Mark is based on EU Directive and is a safety certification mark. Which the European Commission requires that member states apply it on a motor vehicle, parts and systems. The e-Mark logo is a rectangular frame. The number is the EU country or state number that granted the approval. If one state grants approval then it is deemed sufficient for all other member states.
E13 appears to be – Luxembourg (E11 is UK)
The only E13 LiFePO4 batteries I could find available in the UK were by Advanced Mobile Power Systems (YSEBAERT) - Lithium batteries with internal BMS and safety shutdown see http://www.ysebaert.be/assets/pdf/productfiches/energie/batterijen/datasheetamps.pdf1 -
Frankly, I have now lost interest and my last word on the subject is to all. If you are considering fitting Li's to your van before you pay out £1k plus per battery be certain that what you choose has been tested and approved for road use.
Reading the above posts the approval seemed to be related to interference with other safety systems within the vehicle. Presumably this would be much more of an issue if fitting one in a MH rather than a caravan?
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My battery has BMS and external electronics keeping an eye on it but again, I say it’s a Lithium Phosphate Battery- not a Lithium Ion. It is totally safe in the situation it has. Roadpro have been fitting Lion batteries for years and to hundreds of vehicles without one single issue - including mine! I really think DD that you should not spend your time talking about things that only technical experts know about. I have used hundreds of things during my life with only a smattering of the technical brilliance behind them. Why would I bother about such things? Life is too short. I leave it to the experts and extract what I need. I am still not sure what you mean by ‘Road Use’ - a Lithium in the battery tray of a car, a battery in a caravan being towed along a road? You seem to be only too keen to discourage, divert, frighten and generally have a negative angle on everything. You said in another thread that you have been and are ‘way in front of Merve’ and yet only a week previous to that you were saying you were thinking of going down the Lithium route. I asked you to share this amazing power source that you obviously have for the benefit of the forum but funnily enough, we haven’t seen anything. My last word to you is try to be more positive about life and just enjoy it- even if you have to put up with a red passport!!
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Thanks - TwoNomads and EasyT ref the link. Read some interesting bits there.
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