A new type of aluminum-air battery has proven capable of providing enough energy to power an electric vehicle for up to 1,000 miles — with only occasional stops to take on more water.
Vehicle used in testing of aluminum-air battery.
The company behind the battery is Phinergy, an Israeli developer of metal-air energy systems.
For those unfamiliar with the technology, metal-air batteries get their energy via interaction between oxygen and metals, with the metal acting as the cathode, the oxygen in the air serving as the cathode, and water being used as an electrolyte.
An aluminum-air battery uses metal as a fuel source rather than a battery component.
Specific to the metal being used in this story, aluminum was chosen because it contains high amounts of energy (8kWh/kg) which is accessed via Phinergy’s aluminum-air energy system.
The system itself consists of not one, but actually numerous aluminum plates. Phinergy claims that each plate holds enough energy to power an EV approximately 20 miles and that the system they designed holds 50 of these plates at a time (which is where the 1,000-mile claim comes from).
Phinergy’s air-aluminum battery consists of 50 aluminum plates.
Once the plate of aluminum is depleted, it turns to aluminum hydroxide. The metal is considered unusable and needs to be replaced / recycled in an aluminum factory.
As the water is used, it too needs to be replaced. On average, the system needs a water fill-up every 200 miles or so.
What makes Phinergy’s system worth covering is that it seems to have solved a long-standing issue with metal-air batteries. You see, while the technology has been studied for a few years now, the thing that’s been holding it back has largely been issues with carbon dioxide in the air causing corrosion damage. Phinergy claims that they found a way to prevent the damaging gas from entering the system and in doing so, have created a battery that can last as long as the car it powers.
To explore the topic more, check out Phinergy’s promotional video below:
Air-metal batteries are a unique form of portable power in that they use metal as a fuel source as opposed to a battery component. Replacing the metal when it is depleted can be costly. Also, using a pack of 50 plates can be quite heavy — a pack of 50 aluminum plates weighs approximately 50 pounds. For these reasons, Phinergy is not positioning their aluminum-air battery as the main source of power for commuter trips, but rather as a trip extender instead. It can be used in vehicles that plan on making a long journey, or added to electric vehicles to extend the car’s range (most electric vehicles have a 100-mile range or so).
Phinergy states that they believe cars using their aluminum-air batteries will be sold commercially come 2017.
Story via: phinergy.com
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