Aluminium Air Batteries go up to 2,700 Miles...THE SALVATION OF THE EV INDUSTRY ?
COULD THIS BE THE EV SOLUTION ?
A brand new recyclable Aluminium-Air power technology
A 1500 mile range battery with a 90 second swap system
Cost effective for the driver
A long-range, lightweight, cost-efficient, recyclable and ethically sourced battery is, arguably, the Holy Grail of the EV market. Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries are currently the main focus of multibillion-dollar investments by OEMs and tier suppliers, but there are other contenders that could offer a breakthrough with alternative technology. One of them is the aluminium-air (Al-air) battery.
Trevor Jackson, an engineer and former officer in the UK’s Royal Navy, began experimenting with Al-air batteries in 2001 at his modest workshop in Callington, Cornwall. Although the Al-air battery was invented back in the 1960s, it was deemed unfit for commercial deployment due to its electrolyte being dangerously caustic and poisonous.
Jackson’s experiments led to the development of a new, safe electrolyte which he has even tasted in front of startled industry observers in order to prove its benign properties. He claims the battery can give an EV a 1,500-mile (2,400-kilometre) range. To put that in context, a Tesla Model S has an estimated range, from a single charge, of 370 miles. According to Jackson, replacing a standard Tesla Li-ion battery with an Al-air device of the same weight would produce a range of 2,700 miles.
How it works
Aluminium-Air technology has long attracted attention due to its cheap, lightweight and high-energy nature. Aluminium is the most abundant metal on Earth and is easy to handle, store and is safe as a way of storing electrical energy.
A Métalectrique power cell is actually quite simple. A piece of Aluminium is in contact with a special electrolyte. This electrolyte reacts with the metal on the negative end and on the positive end, air reacts with the electrolyte. When those two reactions are combined, aluminium is transformed into hydrated alumina and electrons are transferred from the second layer, through the conductor, ready to power a device. After use, the hydrated alumina can be reprocessed by smelting it, recovering the water and oxygen as it forms fresh aluminium. This cycle can be used over and over again.
Metalectrique has developed this technology but risks being blocked by the traditional battery makers and their investors.
For more information go to: https://www.metalectrique.com/