U.S. Department of Energy Unveils New Lithium-Sulfur Battery Component

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Berkeley Lab reported that a new, lithium-sulfur battery component can hold double the capacity then that a conventional lithium sulfur battery.

According to a press release from Berkeley Lab, when a lithium-sulfur battery stores and releases energy, the chemical reaction produces mobile molecules of sulfur that become disconnected from the electrode, causing it to degrade and ultimately lowering the battery’s capacity over time. The new component, however yields more of a charge after 100+ charge cycles, which is a key component in the metrics of electric vehicles and aviation vehicles. The addition of a newly designed polymer binder, allows regulation of key ion transport processes.

“We can now reliably and efficiently model sulfur chemistry within these binders based on learning from detailed quantum mechanical simulations of the dissolved sulfur-containing products,” says David Prendergast, director at Foundry’s Theory Facility.

This new polymer advances the power of lithium-sulfur batteries, and is the next step for more energy efficient, electric vehicles.

To read more of this new battery technology, check out the full news release.