Chinese scientists have created an all-weather electrolyte that could improve lithium batteries, allowing them to operate more efficiently at room temperature and in extreme environments.
The research team from Shanghai and Tianjin said batteries made using the hydrofluorocarbon-based electrolyte had more than double the energy density of those made with traditional electrolytes when operating at room temperature.
They said the batteries could also operate efficiently at minus 70 degrees Celsius (minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit).
The development paves the way for longer-lasting lithium batteries that are better adapted to a wide range of operating temperatures and conditions – from powering electric vehicles across climates to operating in space.
Reporting their findings in a paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature last month, the team said hydrofluorocarbon electrolytes offered a “promising pathway to break the power and energy density ceiling of batteries”.
“For the same mass of lithium battery, the room temperature energy storage capacity is increased by two to three times,” said study author Li Yong, a researcher at the Shanghai Institute of Space Power-Sources (SISP).
This could increase the range of electric vehicles from 500-600km (310-372 miles) to 1,000km (621 miles), Li told official ministry newspaper Science and Technology Daily on March 19.
