Will zinc air batteries replace lithium batteries?

From MP3 phones to electric cars, making batteries that are safer, have a longer life and have more rechargeable cycles has always been a key technical challenge. We have used many years of lithium-ion battery technology has many obvious shortcomings, such as fast power degradation, short life, environmental protection, etc.. Lithium-ion battery overheating and explosion accidents that have occurred many times are still daunting.

Among the many technologies that are expected to replace lithium batteries, a new force has recently emerged: zinc-air rechargeable batteries. In fact, zinc-air battery technology has been invented for more than a hundred years. Activated carbon is used to absorb oxygen in the air as a positive polar active substance, zinc as a negative electrode, and ammonium chloride or caustic alkali solution as an electrolyte. In the 1960s, zinc-air batteries began to enter practical applications due to technological improvements brought about byspecial engineering. Nowadays, the button batteries used in many hearing aids are actually zinc-air batteries.

The ReVolt company established by SINTEF in Switzerland is responsible for the product development and marketing of zinc-air rechargeable batteries. The company said miniature zinc-air rechargeable batteries for hearing aids would begin selling next year, and zinc-air rechargeable batteries for other mobile devices, such as mobile phones, would be rolled out later. By the time of listing, its charging and discharging life should reach 300 to 500 times.

In addition, by drawing on the fuel cell structure, ReVolt said that zinc-air rechargeable batteries will also be used in electric vehicles in the future, with a life of more than 10,000 charges and discharges, but this technology is currently far from practical.

Due to the structural limitations of zinc-air batteries, it has been impossible to realize rechargeable battery technology for recycling for a long time. In recent years, SINTEF, a Norwegian research institute, has achieved the charging technology of zinc-air batteries by improving zinc electrodes and internal humidity control. The current rechargeable zinc air battery has achieved more than 100 charge-discharge cycles in the experiment and the expected life span can reach 200 times. Compared with lithium batteries, zinc air rechargeable batteries store three times their power, cost half of the lithium batteries, and have no safety risks from overheating.

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