PolyPlus: Water Batteries Could Be Comin’ Soon - lithium air battery
Batteries made of lithium and seawater (or just plain tap water) may be on their way to the ocean market near you.
This is the implementation of a technology --year-
The old company, named PolyPlus and various partnerships, is from Lawrence Berkeley Labs and has received high-risk early funding from Doe. stage ARPA-E program.
On the annual ARPA
PolyPlus was highlighted as a potential game this weekARPA's "Changers"
E. director Arun Majumdar, I had the opportunity to sit down with PolyPlus CTO Steven Visco on Monday.
Chemical reactions sound like science fiction, but Visco told me in an interview that he thought the company's water batteries could go public in two years and said, the company is now starting to produce a pilot production line for water batteries.
Water batteries are not even the ultimate goal of PolyPlus;
The company is developing a non-
Rechargeable lithium
Air and rechargeable lithium-
The air battery is the most difficult to manufacture of the three batteries, it received ARPA-E grant.
The working principle of the water battery is as follows: a package encircles the lithium and completely separates it from the water, but it can still be charged.
This is critical because the reaction of lithium and water is very shocking (Visco showed me the video of the lithium base dissolved in the water ).
Visco said that when he realized that the battery was working, it was a eureka moment when he used the film of a third party in Japan and three of the company's own-
Layer system, stable operation in 2003.
"Cycling lithium and water is definitely unheard of," Visco said, after which the company was "completely silent" and turned to a patent application after the patent application.
Water battery can achieve awe
The excitation energy density of 1,300 wh/kg (small batch) (the amount of energy that can be stored in a battery of a given size), at the time of mass production, the potential 1,500 wh/kg.
As a comparison, standard lithium-
The ion battery is close to 200 wh/kg to 400 wh/kg.
This means that the water battery can be used for a long time.
Imagine a battery used for external equipment of the vessel, or an underwater unmanned vessel that needs power (hello, MoD), that can move on.
Water batteries also do not have to carry positive or water in them.
The Polyplus water battery has an open system and the surrounding water is connected to lithium.
This means that the production of batteries can be simpler and cheaper.
In general, Visco believes that the marine battery market may have half a billion dollars.
This may be too ambitious because many of the applications we discuss are early --
Come on stage.
But one of the battery experts I interviewed believes that polyplus's water battery equipment is already on the road and may have a big impact on the company.
Rechargeable lithium
Air battery received from ARPA-
E. grants may be more difficult.
Even though the dream is bigger: one day, batteries can make electric cars in the range of 300 to 500 miles.
If PolyPlus achieves this goal, there will be at least five years left, and maybe 20 years left before the car logo company will start using these types of batteries for electric vehicles.
Innovative car companies like Tesla took a long time to standardize lithium.
Ion batteries for electric vehicles.
Still, you want to know why PolyPlus has not yet entered the manufacturing industry before that.
Visco told me that the company does not want to be just a licensing company but wants to be a manufacturer and is currently raising money from VCs and strategic investors.
Hopefully the water battery will be on the road at the end of the financing round.