Research areas within ÅABC
Below you can found out more about some of our research areas.
A lithium-ion battery is a member of a family of rechargeable battery types in which lithium ions move from the negative electrode to the positive electrode during discharge and back when charging. The electrolyte, which allows for ionic movement, and the two electrodes are the constituent components of a lithium-ion cell.
Within our research we focus, among other things, to improve the different parts:
Lithium-air batteries are interesting because of their high energy density which is about 5-10 times higher than for a conventional Li-ion battery used in mobile phones and laptops.
The rechargeable lithium-sulfur (Li-S) battery is one of the most promising "post-Li-ion" energy storage systems. The battery has the potential for very high gravimetric energy density - that is, a Li-S battery could store two to three times as much energy for a given weight compared to current Li-ion batteries. Other advantages of the system include relatively good safety, the potential for operation at very low temperatures, and lower cost: as a byproduct of the oil industry, sulfur is very inexpensive and highly abundant. However, short cycle life and high self-discharge remain barriers to wider commercialisation, and very complex chemistry makes this system challenging to study.
Small-scale batteries less than 1 cm3, often called microbatteries, will be key for powering the internet-of-things as well as many miniature medical implants and devices.
Follow the link below if you're interested in learning more about 3D-microbatteries.
Our research on Na-ion batteries is mainly focused on: i) the development of novel cathode and anode materials for rechargeable based on naturally abundant materials, and ii) obtaining a better understanding on the role of the interphases in Na-ion batteries using synchrotron-based and in-house characterization techniques.
The increasing use of batteries in the energy system puts large strain on the natural resources, and the prizes of many key materials for batteries are also rising rapidly. This is why we research organic batteries, to ease up the strain we put on natural resources.
More on organic batteries