Electric Vehicles (EVs) are a done deal for future not far away, keeping that thing in mind researchers at IBM are working to create a lithium-air battery for EVs that would leave the need of gasoline out. The Battery 500 project is under way since 2009 and it combines the innovation, efforts, and experience of Asahi Kasei and Central Glass along with those from IBM Labs.
Asahi Kasei is Japan’s leading “global supplier of separator membrane for lithium-ion batteries” whereas Central Glass is a “leading global electrolyte manufacturer for lithium-ion batteries”.
The Lithium-air battery will function by absorbing the oxygen from the outer environment thus creating electricity for the vehicle to be driven. The air breathing battery has higher energy density as compared to its contemporaries, and they are lighter as well.
The process of borrowing the oxygen from air and releasing it back will be repeated as long as the battery is working.
On a single charge, lithium-air battery can power a family sized car for 500 miles.
The technology is novel at the moment and lots of work still to be done. IBM hopes that people will be able to hookup their lithium-air battery sometime between 2020 and 2030.
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