After 40 years of history, lithium batteries may have greater potential for development.

Earlier this year, Ailun·weilianmusi, head of the Department of Energy's Advanced Alternative Energy Research Program(ARPA-E), made headlines overnight. The reason is that she told an interview with a British media: "We have made a major breakthrough in the battery field. "

Although research projects supported by ARPA-E for more than 75 energy storage have achieved some satisfactory results, there has been no breakthrough in the production of small, low-cost energy storage devices.

Many startups are close to producing an energy storage device that integrates economic, security, compact, and high-energy densities, and can guarantee that its cost is less than $100 per kilowatt-hour. However, if the price of energy storage equipment is controlled below 100 US dollars per kilowatt-hour, it will inevitably trigger a galvanic effect.

The electrocouple corrosion effect refers to the local corrosion at the contact point of heterogeneous metals in the same medium due to different corrosion potentials. Overcoming this problem requires the use of renewable energy sources. While renewable energy sources such as solar and wind can make electric cars lighter and less expensive, they are only available when the sun is shining or the wind is raging.

However, the commercialization of the new battery has not kept pace with the current shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy. Even Ailong·masike, Tesla's chief executive who is confident in these new energy technologies, has to admit that the automakers are not making much progress in improving lithium batteries.

In fact, many researchers believe that for energy storage to make substantial progress, it must adopt a completely new chemical process and physical shape. Only in this way can the achievements of lithium-ion batteries in the past decade in areas such as consumer electronics, electric cars and net-level storage systems be surpassed.

In May, the US Department of Energy hosted a seminar on the theme "Beyond Lithium-ion Batteries". In fact, this is the ninth time, and it aims to discuss the technical challenges facing the development of new energy storage devices.

Huqichao, founder of Solar Energy Systems, a company separated from MIT, has developed a new type of lithium metal battery. This new type of battery significantly increases the energy density of the battery device, far exceeding the energy density of the current battery.

"The main obstacle to developing a new battery system over a decade is how to turn an idea into a product," he said. This is even more difficult for the battery, because you improve one aspect of performance, which can affect the other. Therefore, trade-offs must be made. "

In addition, energy storage research also faces multiple problems: There are many battery technologies, from foam batteries to fluid batteries to chemical batteries. There is not yet a clear winner in these battery technologies. This leads to fragmentation and uncertainty in the study.

In the past eight years, startups looking at the next generation of new batteries have received, on average, just $40 million in funding, according to data from a research firm. By contrast, Tesla will invest about $5 billion in its Giga plant, which makes lithium-ion batteries. What huge investment gap is difficult to overcome.

"Building a small production line that's done will cost about $500 million," says Gerd Ceder, a professor of materials at the University of California, Berkeley. Carmakers may have to test the new battery system for years before making a purchase decision. So if your company gets only $5 million a year, it's almost impossible to invest $500 million to build a plant to make new batteries. "

Even if new battery makers can eventually bring the new technology to market, they will face problems such as expanding production and finding buyers. This was the case with the previous LeydenEnergy and A123 Systems. Although new technologies were available, they failed due to insufficient funding and demand that did not meet expectations. There are also two start-up companies Seeo and Sakti3, which were acquired at a low price before mass production.

Meanwhile, Samsung, LG and Panasonic, the world's top three battery makers, have all shifted their strategies, with less and less interest in new technology batteries, in favour of improving their current products. In addition, these new battery start-ups face a problem they do not want to mention: Lithium-ion batteries developed in the 1970s have been constantly improving.

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