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New All-Solid Sulfur Based Battery Outperforms Lithium Ion
olsmeister writes "The new all-solid battery design uses solid sulfur and lithium, and outperforms existing lithium-ion batteries with four times the energy density. The battery can maintain a capacity of 1200 milliampere-hours per gram after 300 charge-discharge cycles. More work needs to be done, but one would think this new technology could have applications in renewable energy storage, electric cars, and consumer electronics."
"Because lithium-sulfur batteries deliver about half the voltage of lithium-ion versions"
Li-ion is around 3.7V (+-0.4, depending on exact design). So this is about a 1.8V battery. So for a reasonable approximation, multiply by about 7 for a 12v version. That puts a 12v, 1.2AH version at 175g. Plus a little more for the casing. Not bad at all. Add case, and your 30AH battery can be replaced with a five-kilo battery. A bit heavy for a pocket, but but by much.
It's +- a lot more than 0.4V depending on charge. One of the problems with li-ions is the substantial difference between charged and discharged voltages, requiring devices be able to operate efficiently right across the range.
I've seen li-ions/lipo rated from around 3.2 to 3.9 volts nominal, depending just upon the exact design of the cell - there are a few variations of the chemistry in use. They all function much the same, and the vast majority of cells are labeled 3.6 or 3.7.
I'm sure Elon Musk is paying attention to this. He thinks an electric jet would be possible, and this would make that a whole lot easier to achieve. If they can commercialize it in the next couple of years, it would also be just in time to help Tesla develop its next-gen "affordable" EV. I wouldn't be surprised if he and/or Tesla invest in whatever company gets to bring this tech to market.
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What? 1.2Ah per gram, thats like 7g for 12V version, not 175g!
No, it is a function of the battery chemistry. You have LiCoO2, LiMn2O4, LiFePO4, and others, each with different charge voltages. A good read: http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/types_of_lithium_ion
They're named the way they are because of their chemistry. An alkaline cell has an open circuit voltage of 1.43V - close enough to the old Zinc-Carbon cell's OC voltage of 1.5V. A lead-acid cell has an open circuit voltage of about 2.1V. 6 of those in series makes 12-ish V. The cell potential between the anode and cathode materials determines their open circuit voltage (see this chart).
Here's a great FAQ on battery chemistries.
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