Scientists and engineers working at Harvard's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences have solved a forty year problem with lithium-metal batteries that makes them longer lasting and more efficient than the current lithium-ion batters now found in smartphones and electric vehicles. If the proof of concept design can be translated into commercial product, it will revolutionize the EV industry. Lithium-metal batteries have high energy density and high capacity making them faster to recharge and last longer. The problem has been they were too unstable for commerical use in electric vehicles. The Harvard researchers, who published in Nature, studied the fundamental thermodynamics of solid-state battery operation to come up with an innovative multi-layer approach to battery assembly, which solves the problem of electrode degradation.
Scaling up will not be easy, but the researchers are confident that the methods they used in experimentation are compatible with current mass production technologies, and that solid state batteries can be competitive with lithium-ion versions. A commercial solid state battery could be charged and discharge at least 10,000 times, which would increase the lifetime of electric vehicles to that of gasoline fueled counterparts while simultaneously increasing their range and reducing their charge time. One of the drawbacks to current electric vehicles is that the massive battery packs must be replaced after a ten year life span--a process similar in scope and cost to installing a new engine in a combustion driven vehicle. This new battery technology could eliminate that drawback from consideration.