Tesla is one of the leading manufacturers of electric vehicles across the world. Recently, the company’s Battery Research ARM in Canada published an article regarding a new battery it’s looking to develop. The research group partnered with Dalhousie University to release the new paper. The paper says Tesla is looking to develop a new nickel-based battery that could last for about 100 years.
You’ll find more information on this topic as you read further through the rest of this article.
Relationship between Tesla’s advanced battery arm and the Dalhousie University
Tesla established its Advanced Battery Research Arm in Canada in 2016. The same year, the research group partnered with Jeff Dahn’s battery lab, which is at the Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada. In case you don’t know, Dahn is one of the few scientists that started the research on Li-ion batteries. Majorly, people know Dahn for his contribution to the commercialization of these Li-ion batteries. He did that by increasing the life cycle of the cells.
Today, Dahn’s research focuses more on how to achieve an increase in energy density and durability of batteries, at a reduced cost. The Tesla Battery research group, together with Dahn’s battery lab at Dalhousie University, has published a couple of papers regarding the production of high-quality batteries for Tesla’s EVs.
The partnership between Tesla’s research group and Dalhousie University ended in 2021. However, they later renewed the contract; it’ll now last until 2026. The renewal also comes with two new members; Chongyin Yang and Michael Metzger, who now work closely with Dahn.
Tesla battery research group says a new high-energy-density battery could last 100 years
As earlier mentioned, Michael Metzger is one of the newest members of Dahn’s battery research group. Metzger, alongside Dahn and a few Ph.D. holders, have released a new paper, called “Li [Ni0.5Mn0.3Co0.2] O2 as a Superior Alternative to LiFePO4 for Long-Lived Low Voltage Li-Ion Cells.” These people recently published the paper in the Journal of the Electrochemical Society.
The recently released paper talks about a new nickel-based battery that could last for 100 years. The battery aims to compete with LiFePO4 (LFP) battery cells in terms of longevity, without losing its key properties. So, it means while the battery could last for many years, it’ll also keep its higher energy density property. That said, here’s a brief of what the abstract in the published paper says, as spotted by Electrek:
“Single-crystal Li[Ni0.5Mn0.3Co0.2]O2//graphite (NMC532) pouch cells with only sufficient graphite for operation to 3.80 V (rather than ≥4.2 V) were cycled with charging to either 3.65 V or 3.80 V to facilitate comparison with LiFePO4//graphite (LFP) pouch cells on the grounds of similar maximum charging potential and similar negative electrode utilization. The NMC532 cells, when constructed with only sufficient graphite to be charged to 3.80 V, have an energy density that exceeds that of the LFP cells and a cycle-life that greatly exceeds that of the LFP cells at 40 °C, 55 °C, and 70 °C. Excellent lifetime at high temperature is demonstrated with electrolytes that contain lithium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide (LiFSI) salt, well beyond those provided by conventional LiPF6 electrolytes.”
A game-changer for Tesla
Including this nickel-based battery, which could last for 100 years, on Tesla vehicles could be a game-changer for the company. Currently, one factor that scares most people away from buying electric vehicles is battery degradation. But with the addition of this nickel battery, people will start seeing more reasons to go for Tesla’s EVs.
Currently, we’re still very far away from seeing Tesla include this battery in its vehicles. But as you now know, Dahn and other researchers have started working on how to make the dream a reality.
