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Concept
Lithium–air battery
Summary
The lithium–air battery (Li–air) is a metal–air electrochemical cell or battery chemistry that uses oxidation of lithium at the anode and reduction of oxygen at the cathode to induce a current flow.
Pairing lithium and ambient oxygen can theoretically lead to electrochemical cells with the highest possible specific energy. Indeed, the theoretical specific energy of a non-aqueous Li–air battery, in the charged state with Li2O2 product and excluding the oxygen mass, is ~40.1 MJ/kg = 11.14 kWh/kg of lithium. This is comparable to the theoretical specific energy of gasoline, ~46.8 MJ/kg. In practice, Li–air batteries with a specific energy of ~6.12 MJ/kg = 1.7 kWh/kg of lithium at the cell level have been demonstrated. This is about 5 times greater than that of a commercial lithium-ion battery, and is sufficient to run a 2,000 kg electric vehicle for ~ on a single charge using 60 kg of lithium (i.e. 20.4 kWh/100 km). However, the practical power and cycle life of Li–air batteries need significant improvements before they can find a market niche.
Significant electrolyte advances are needed to develop a commercial implementation. Four approaches are being considered: aprotic, aqueous, solid-state and mixed aqueous–aprotic.
A major market driver for batteries is the automotive sector. The energy density of gasoline is approximately 13 kW·h/kg, which corresponds to 1.7 kW·h/kg of energy provided to the wheels after losses. Theoretically, lithium–air can achieve 12 kW·h/kg (43.2 MJ/kg) excluding the oxygen mass. Accounting for the weight of the full battery pack (casing, air channels, lithium substrate), while lithium alone is very light, the energy density is considerably lower.
Originally proposed in the 1970s as a possible power source for battery electric vehicles, and hybrid electric vehicles, Li–air batteries recaptured scientific interest late in the first decade of the 2000s due to advances in materials science.
Although the idea of a lithium–air battery was around long before 1996, the risk-to-benefit ratio was perceived as too high to pursue.
Official source
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