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The growing global demand for portable electronics and electric vehicles has increased the need for affordable and eco-friendly battery solutions. Potassium-ion batteries have emerged as a strong alternative to traditional lithium-ion systems, thanks to the abundant and widely available potassium resources worldwide.
This latest breakthrough advances potassium-ion batteries toward becoming a practical alternative to lithium-ion systems, thanks to potassium’s abundance and favorable properties, including rapid charging.
Experts anticipate that these batteries could eventually be more affordable and simpler to produce than lithium-ion batteries, potentially enabling wider applications such as storing electricity from renewable energy sources.
“Potassium is a much more abundant material, and potassium-ion batteries have a lot of potential as an alternative method of storing and delivering large amounts electricity. Adopting potassium-ion batteries for stationary storage purposes could help free up lithium resources for use in more energy-intensive mobile applications in the future,” Alexey Ganin, lead author and Head of the Glasgow ElectroChemistry on Solids explained.
The researchers demonstrated that their naturally conductive chromium selenide cathode achieves high performance with under 10% carbon. Their prototype offers a capacity of 125 mAh/g, nearly reaching its theoretical maximum of 127 mAh/g.
The material’s layered structure enables potassium ions to move smoothly between layers during charging and discharging, allowing the battery to retain 85% of its capacity even at high charging speeds in lab tests. The team’s next step is to find an electrolyte that can further enhance the battery’s performance in future designs.
“We’re keen to partner with robotics experts who can help us test the thousands of potential chemical combinations to find the best possible candidate for use in our battery.” Ganin added.
Source: Interesting Engineering
Image: Just Super