There’s additionally rising concern about fires began by e-bikes in New York Metropolis. These fires, which may be lethal, have principally been attributable to bikes that aren’t repaired appropriately or use substandard batteries, highlighting the necessity for regulation and tight high quality management of batteries. 

What it comes all the way down to is that this: lithium-ion batteries can catch fireplace. It doesn’t occur typically, and there are various, many security controls that may be put in place to handle the danger successfully. However some battery makers wish to construct alternate options that can’t catch fireplace within the first place. 

Watering it down

Lithium-ion chemistry has been optimized over a long time to pack a number of vitality right into a small, light-weight machine and ship a number of energy. 

A part of that optimization is within the liquid electrolyte: normal lithium-based batteries use natural solvents combined with salts to shuttle cost round. Theoretically, batteries can use water because the solvent, however they often don’t. That’s for a fairly good purpose: the excessive voltage widespread in lithium-ion batteries, which is required to ship excessive energy, can pull water aside into hydrogen and oxygen. 

However in relation to enormous storage installations on the grid, there’s a special steadiness to strike. Quite than specializing in packing plenty of vitality right into a small battery, researchers and firms need above all to decrease the batteries’ price.  

So batteries destined for storage on the grid could make some compromises. They won’t have to cost and discharge so rapidly, and it’s much less essential to get them as small and light-weight as doable. 

That opens up the opportunity of utilizing heavier supplies, like iron and zinc. And with decrease energy and decrease voltages wanted, corporations can use water with salts combined in as an electrolyte. That would assist save on prices, make the batteries simpler to fabricate, and in addition assist with security. You’d most likely have a tough time setting water-based batteries on fireplace, even should you tried. 

Some corporations are leaning into the advantages of utilizing water of their different batteries as they begin to make progress towards commercialization.