Batteries have reached a tipping point this year because silicon anodes are actually being produced and they do two things. They double the range of battery packs, and they allow incredibly fast charging.
First let me say that just about any advance in batteries involves some basic chemistry that was known decades ago. Lithium, Silicon, Sodium, and Sulfur were all identified as fantastic battery materials. However, the problem is always in the details. All of these have been experimented with, and it was just sheer luck that in the 1990’s Lithium-Ion cathodes and graphite anodes turned out the be the first big combination that worked well, and could be scaled-up to mass production at an affordable price.
For instance, even with the chemistry options set aside, we have been promised “Solid State Batteries” for over a decade. They actually exist in labs already, along with very expensive samples working right now on the International Space Station. The problem is in figuring out how to mass-produce large SSB’s, and to do it cheaply.
The majority of research during the early 2000’s has been on improving the positive Cathode, by tweaking the lithium chemistry with “NCM” which is Nickel, Cobalt, and Manganese. Great efforts have gone into reducing the amount of Cobalt used because it is rare, and much of it is mined under horrible conditions in Africa. Back in 2019, we wrote about how NMC532 cathodes (5% Nickel, 3% Manganese, and 2% Cobalt) now look like they would last 20 years of use (to see that article, click here). I noticed in the documents I researched, that this three-additive chemistry group is often called a “Ternary” chemistry, which means a group of three components.
About ten years ago, a massive amount of money started to flow into research on the anodes of batteries, the “negative” electrode. This research is ongoing, but a few years back, silicon had a breakthrough, and now everyone is jumping on it, because the immediate effect is that the batteries are doubling their capacity, and charging times are shockingly fast (with future improvements being likely). The chart above represents thousands of patents that have been filed concerning the materials and processes that would allow silicon anodes to work.
