Rechargeable Lithium-Air Batteries: Development of Ultra High Specific Energy Rechargeable Lithium-Air Batteries Based on Protected Lithium Metal Electrodes

Program Document · Thu Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 2010

OSTI ID:1046736

BEEST Project: PolyPlus is developing the world’s first commercially available rechargeable lithium-air (Li-Air) battery. Li-Air batteries are better than the Li-Ion batteries used in most EVs today because they breathe in air from the atmosphere for use as an active material in the battery, which greatly decreases its weight. Li-Air batteries also store nearly 700% as much energy as traditional Li-Ion batteries. A lighter battery would improve the range of EVs dramatically. Polyplus is on track to making a critical breakthrough: the first manufacturable protective membrane between its lithium–based negative electrode and the reaction chamber where it reacts with oxygen from the air. This gives the battery the unique ability to recharge by moving lithium in and out of the battery’s reaction chamber for storage until the battery needs to discharge once again. Until now, engineers had been unable to create the complex packaging and air-breathing components required to turn Li-Air batteries into rechargeable systems.

• Research Organization: PolyPlus Battery Company
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E)
• OSTI ID: 1046736
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

ARPA-E
BEEST
Batteries for Electrical Energy Storage in Transportation
Portable Energy Storage