A new invention has come into light that is being considered a game changer for the Electric Vehicle industry. The new power source is lightweight, inexpensive, has 9 times the energy density of a lithium-ion battery, and can power an electric car for up to 1,500 miles (24000 Kms). It was developed by Trevor Jackson, a UK engineer and former Royal Navy officer who since 2001 has been working on aluminum air batteries at his workshop in the Cornish town of Callington.
The power source uses recycled aluminum, which is one of the most abundant metals on Earth, and a nontoxic electrolyte whose composition is not revealed by the inventor. The electrolyte can be replaced with a new one while the old one gets recycled. The idea is to swap the spent batteries for fully charged new ones as the process of disconnecting the old one and connecting the new one would take about 90 seconds.
In 2017, the UK Trade and Investment agency conducted an independent evaluation and found it to a “very attractive battery” based on “well established’” technology. The inventor has also signed a multi-million dollar deal with Austin Electric, an engineering firm based in Essex that will begin putting thousands of them into electric vehicles next year. Jackson has also secured a £108,000 grant for further research from the Advanced Propulsion Center, a partner of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
The electric vehicles although gaining traction still face many obstacles like less range, long charging time and low penetration of charging infrastructure if this Aluminum ion battery is successful it can upend energy storage and further revolutionize the electrification of transportation.
Source: Daily Mail
