Research
New Battery Technology Could Boost Renewable Energy Storage
Columbia Engineers develop new powerful battery "fuel" -- an electrolyte that not only lasts longer but is also cheaper to produce.
Renewable energy sources like wind and solar are critical to sustaining our planet, but they come with a big challenge: they don't always generate power when it's needed. To make the most of them, we need efficient and affordable ways to store the energy they produce, so we have power even when the wind isn't blowing or the sun isn't shining.
Columbia Engineering material scientists have been focused on developing new kinds of batteries to transform how we store renewable energy. In a new study published September 5 by Nature Communications, the team used K-Na/S batteries that combine inexpensive, readily-found elements -- potassium (K) and sodium (Na), together with sulfur (S) -- to create a low-cost, high-energy solution for long-duration energy storage.
“It’s important that we be able to extend the length of time these batteries can operate, and that we can manufacture them easily and cheaply,” said the team’s leader Yuan Yang, associate professor of materials science and engineering in the Department of Applied Physics and Mathematics at Columbia Engineering. “Making renewable energy more reliable will help stabilize our energy grids, reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, and support a more sustainable energy future for all of us.”
New electrolyte helps K-Na/S batteries store and release energy more efficiently
There are two major challenges with K-Na/S batteries: they have a low capacity because the formation of inactive solid K2S2 and K2S blocks the diffusion process and their operation requires very high temperatures (>250 oC) that need complex thermal management, thus increasing the cost of the process. Previous studies have struggled with solid precipitates and low capacity and the search has been on for a new technique to improve these types of batteries.
Yang’s group developed a new electrolyte, a solvent of acetamide and ε-caprolactam, to help the battery store and release energy. This electrolyte can dissolve K2S2 and K2S, enhancing the energy density and power density of intermediate-temperature K/S batteries. In addition, it enables the battery to operate at a much lower temperature (around 75°C) than previous designs, while still achieving almost the maximum possible energy storage capacity.
“Our approach achieves nearly theoretical discharge capacities and extended cycle life. This is very exciting in the field of intermediate-temperature K/S batteries,” said the study’s co-first author Zhenghao Yang, a PhD student with Yang.
Pathway to a sustainable energy future
Yang’s group is affiliated with the Columbia Electrochemical Energy Center (CEEC), which takes a multiscale approach to discover groundbreaking technology and accelerate commercialization. CEEC joins together faculty and researchers from across the School of Engineering and Applied Science who study electrochemical energy with interests ranging from electrons to devices to systems. Its industry partnerships enable the realization of breakthroughs in electrochemical energy storage and conversion.
Planning to scale up
While the team is currently focused on small, coin-sized batteries, their goal is to eventually scale up this technology to store large amounts of energy. If they are successful, these new batteries could provide a stable and reliable power supply from renewable sources, even during times of low sun or wind. The team is now working on optimizing the electrolyte composition.
About the Study
Journal: Nature Communications
Title: “Designing electrolytes with high solubility of sulfides/disulfides for high-energy-density and low-cost K-Na/S batteries.”
Authors: Liying Tian1,2,#, Zhenghao Yang1,#, Shiyi Yuan1, Tye Milazzo4, Qian Cheng1, Syed Rasool1, Wenrui Lei3, Wenbo Li1, Yucheng Yang1, Tianwei Jin1, Shengyu Cong1, Joseph Francis Wild1, Yonghua Du5, Tengfei Luo*4, Donghui Long*2, Yuan Yang*1
- Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, United States
- Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200237, China.
- Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, United States
- Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, United States
- National Synchrotron Light Source II, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973, United States
Funding: Y.Y. acknowledges support from Columbia University, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (FA9550-22-1-0226) and the program of Interfacial Engineering and Electrochemical Systems at National Science Foundation (Award No. 2102592, 2341994, 23411995). Support from SEAS Interdisciplinary Research Seed (SIRS) and Climate School Seed Funding at Columbia University. T.M. thank Dr. Eliseo Marin Rimoldi for the discussion on MD simulations. This research used 8-BM of the National Synchrotron Light Source II, a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science User Facility operated for the DOE Office of Science by Brookhaven National Laboratory under Contract No. DE-SC0012704.
The authors declare no financial or other conflicts of interest. They have filed a provisional patent through Columbia Technology Ventures.