The world is increasingly reliant on batteries for operation.

The world is increasingly reliant on batteries for operation.

Policies around the world will only accelerate this growth: recent climate legislation in the United States is injecting billions of dollars into incentives for battery manufacturing and electric vehicle purchases. The European Union and several states in the United States have banned the use of gas powered vehicles since 2035.



This transformation will require a large number of batteries - and even better and cheaper ones.



Nowadays, most electric vehicles are powered by lithium-ion batteries, a technology that has been around for decades and is also used in laptops and mobile phones. Over the years, development has helped reduce prices and improve performance, so today's electric vehicles are approaching the price of gasoline powered vehicles, and can travel hundreds of miles per charge. Lithium ion batteries are also seeking new applications, including grid power storage, to help balance intermittent renewable energy sources such as wind and solar energy.




But there is still a lot of room for improvement. Academic laboratories and companies are looking for ways to improve technology - increasing capacity, accelerating charging time, and reducing costs. Our goal is to produce cheaper batteries, provide affordable storage for the power grid, and allow electric vehicles to charge and travel longer distances.



Meanwhile, concerns about the supply of key battery materials such as cobalt and lithium are driving the search for alternatives to standard lithium-ion chemicals.



With the soaring demand for electric vehicles and renewable energy, as well as the explosive growth of battery development, one thing is certain: batteries will play a crucial role in the transition to renewable energy. The following are the expectations for 2023.



Thorough reflection

Some completely different battery methods for electric vehicles may make progress in 2023, although they may take longer to have a commercial impact.



One noteworthy development this year is the so-called solid-state battery. Lithium ion batteries and related chemicals use liquid electrolytes to transport charges. Solid state batteries use ceramics or other solid materials to replace this liquid.



This exchange releases the possibility of loading more energy into smaller spaces, potentially increasing the range of electric vehicles. Solid state batteries can also move charges faster, which means shorter charging time. As some solvents used in electrolytes may be flammable, supporters of solid-state batteries say they improve safety by reducing the risk of fire.



Related Stories

Battery stress testing

New lithium metal batteries will drive the development of electric vehicles

A new type of battery can ultimately make electric vehicles as convenient and affordable as gasoline cars.



Solid state batteries can use various chemicals, but the main candidate for commercialization is lithium metal. For example, Quantumscape focuses on this technology and raised hundreds of millions of dollars before going public in 2020. The company has reached an agreement with Volkswagen to install its batteries in cars by 2025.



But the fact has proven that completely reinventing batteries is difficult, and lithium metal batteries also face concerns of degradation over time, as well as manufacturing challenges. Quantumscape announced in late December that it had delivered samples to automotive partners for testing, marking an important milestone for solid-state batteries entering the automotive market. Other solid-state battery manufacturers, such as Solid Power, are also committed to manufacturing and testing their batteries. However, although they may also achieve significant milestones this year, their batteries will not be applied to vehicles on the road by 2023.



Solid state batteries are not the only new technology worth paying attention to. Sodium ion batteries are also completely different from the commonly used lithium-ion batteries today. These batteries are designed similar to lithium-ion batteries, including liquid electrolytes, but they do not rely on lithium and instead use sodium as the main chemical component. According to reports, Chinese battery giant Ningde Times plans to start mass production in 2023.



Sodium ion batteries may not improve performance, but they can reduce costs as they rely on materials that are cheaper and more widely used than lithium-ion batteries. But it is currently unclear whether these batteries can meet the needs of electric vehicle range and charging time, which is why several companies pursuing this technology (such as Natron in the United States) are targeting lower demand applications such as fixed storage or micro mobile devices such as electric bicycles and scooters.




Yayoi Sekine, Director of Energy Storage at Bloomberg NEF, an energy research company, said that the market for batteries used for fixed grid storage is currently very small, about one tenth of the size of the electric vehicle battery market. But as more renewable energy is installed, the demand for electricity storage is also growing, as major renewable energy sources such as wind and solar are variable, and batteries can help store energy when needed.



Lithium ion batteries are not an ideal choice for fixed storage, although they are now widely used for fixed storage. Although electric vehicle batteries are becoming smaller, lighter, and faster, the main goal of fixed storage is to reduce costs. For grid storage, size and weight are not as important, which means different chemicals may win.



A rising star in the field of fixed storage is iron, and the two participants may see progress in the coming year. Form Energy is developing an iron air battery that uses a water-based electrolyte and essentially stores energy through reversible rusting. The company recently announced an investment of $760 million to build a manufacturing plant in Wellton, West Virginia, with plans to start construction in 2023. Another company, ESS, is manufacturing a different type of iron battery with similar chemical composition; The company has started production at its headquarters in Wilsonville, Oregon.



Changes within the standard

Lithium ion batteries are constantly getting better and cheaper, but researchers are further adjusting the technology to achieve higher performance and lower costs.



Part of the motivation comes from price fluctuations in battery materials, which may prompt the company to change its chemical composition. This is a cost game, "said Guan.



The cathode is usually one of the most expensive components in batteries, and a cathode called NMC (nickel manganese cobalt) is the main variety of electric vehicle batteries today. But except for lithium, all three elements are expensive, so cutting some or all of them may help reduce costs.



This year may be a breakthrough year for an alternative solution: lithium iron phosphate (LFP), a low-cost cathode material sometimes used in lithium-ion batteries.



Related Stories

Engineer in stelile coverage holds microchip with gloves to examine it

What is the next step in the chip industry

The radical new policies of the United States will be tested in 2023. They may ultimately lead to the division of the global semiconductor industry.



Recent improvements in LFP chemistry and manufacturing have helped improve the performance of these batteries, and the company is shifting towards adopting this technology: LFP market share is rapidly growing, from approximately 10% of the global electric vehicle market in 2018 to approximately 40% in 2022. Tesla has already used lithium iron phosphate batteries in some vehicles, and automakers such as Ford and Volkswagen have announced plans to begin offering some electric vehicle models using this chemical.



Although battery research often focuses on cathode chemicals, the anode will also be modified.



Most anodes in today's lithium-ion batteries, regardless of their cathode composition, use graphite to accommodate lithium ions. But alternatives such as silicon can help increase energy density and accelerate charging speed.




For many years, silicon anodes have been the subject of research, but historically, their lifespan has not been long enough to be used in products. But now, the company is expanding its production of this material.



In 2021, startup Sila began producing silicon anodes for wearable fitness equipment batteries. The company recently received a $100 million grant from the Department of Energy to help build a manufacturing plant in Lake Mosey, Washington. The factory will provide services for Sila's partnership with Mercedes Benz, and is expected to produce electric vehicle battery materials starting from 2025.



Other startups are working to mix silicon and graphite as anodes. OneD Battery Sciences and Silicon Energy, which collaborate with General Motors, may take more measures to commercialize this year.



Policy shaping products

The Inflation Reduction Act passed at the end of 2022 allocated nearly $370 billion for climate and clean energy, including billions of dollars for electric vehicle and battery manufacturing. Everyone has their own ideas for IRA, "said Yet Ming Jiang, a materials researcher at MIT and founder of multiple battery companies.



IRA will provide loans and grants to American battery manufacturers to increase production capacity. In addition, the electric vehicle tax credit in the law encourages car manufacturers to purchase battery materials from the United States or its free trade partners and manufacture batteries in North America. Due to funding from the Irish Republican Army and limitations on electric vehicle tax credits, automakers will continue to announce the establishment of new manufacturing capabilities in the United States and seek new material procurement methods.



Related Stories

Aerial view of a battery recycling plant

Internal battery recycling facility

Battery materials will soon be in short supply. Recycling facilities such as Redwood Materials can help fill this gap.



All of this means that there will be an increasing demand for key components of lithium-ion batteries, including lithium, cobalt, and nickel. One possible outcome of the IRA incentive measures is that there is an increasing interest in battery recycling. Although there will not be enough electric vehicles on the road in the short term to meet the demand for some key materials, recycling has begun to heat up.



Ningde Times and other Chinese companies are leading in battery recycling, but the industry is likely to experience significant growth in other major electric vehicle markets such as North America and Europe this year. Redwood Materials, headquartered in Nevada, and Li Cycle, headquartered in Toronto, are building facilities and working to separate and purify key battery metals such as lithium and nickel for reuse in batteries.