July 25, 2022
Introduction:
Read more here: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/959593(EurekAlert) Most energy storage systems (ESSs) have recently adopted lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), with the highest technology maturity among secondary batteries. However, these are argued to be unsuitable for ESSs, which store substantial amounts of electricity, owing to fire risks. The instability of the international supply of raw materials to construct LIBs has also emerged as a crucial concern. By contrast, aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) use water as the electrolyte, which fundamentally prevents battery ignition. Furthermore, the price of zinc, the raw material, is only one-sixteenth of that of lithium.
The research team led by Dr. Minah Lee at the Energy Storage Research Center in the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST; President Seok-Jin Yoon) announced that they had succeeded in developing a technology for manufacturing “high-density zinc metal anodes,” which is key to commercializing AZIBs. This manufacturing technology is expected to act as a catalyst for the mass production of AZIBs because zinc metal anodes with high energy density and long lifespan can be produced through a simple electroplating process by using low-cost and ecofriendly solutions.