Raghav Rajan

Possible/Different approaches/propositions that can Advance the Current Technology/technological state of Lithium Carbon Dioxide batteries

Started Dec. 1, 2022

Abstract or project description

A recent advance in battery research has yielded results that could revolutionize the battery industry for decades to come: lithium carbon dioxide batteries. They concentrate carbon dioxide gas from the atmosphere, which turns into a liquid inside the battery. The liquid carbon dioxide is then heated back up into a gas, which activates a chemical reaction, producing energy. Lithium carbon dioxide batteries are a fascinating attempt at providing a large scale battery for energy storage and electric vehicles that are more environmentally friendly, are safer, and have a much greater energy density (kWh/kg) than existing technology, such as lithium ion batteries. However, to date, lithium carbon dioxide batteries have not been actively pursued due to a variety of problems with the framework including: an excess build up in carbon which ruins the battery after a few cycles of charge and discharge, net energy capacity loss with cycles of charge and discharge, and a release in carbon dioxide when discharging battery, resulting in effect more greenhouse gas emission than what is consumed via charge, and finally no definite catalyst to speed up this slow reaction. Furthermore, there are a heap of unanswered questions regarding the technology, such as how would it compare with competing technology when all problems are solved, and how would carbon capture be used efficiently in these batteries. By reviewing current models of the battery, we hope to find an appropriate design that is a current upgrade to lithium batteries by being more cost-efficient, sustainable, and reacts quickly.