A solid state battery project is currently being developed by the company at laboratory level.
Although it is still on a laboratory scale, the results are promising and the multitude of possible applications and potential in the market make it a priority to continue with its development.
To understand how a solid state battery works, we must first remember how lithium batteries work.
On the one hand, the lithium ion battery is composed of a pair of electrodes of metal (or composite), one is called an anode and the other anode, immersed in a conductive liquid (electrolyte). This set is what is called a cell. On the other hand, the combination of several cells forms the battery. In particular, our battery uses sodium as an electrolyte, which contains the necessary ions for the reversible chemical reaction that takes place between the cathode and the anode.
When the battery is charged and connected to a device to feed or supply electrical power, for example, when we start the car, the electrical circuit of the set is closed. When this happens, a chemical reaction that releases electrons and causes the circulation of ionized particles from one electrode to another is activated, this leads to the production of electrons to the battery terminals that is, "releasing" the energy. In this way, if a charger is then connected to the battery terminals, a reverse chemical process occurs: the particles circulate in the other direction and the battery recharges.
A solid-state battery works on the same principle as a lithium-ion battery, the main difference remains in the electrolyte. In the first case it is a liquid and in the second a solid material. In the investigations a Na crystal electrolyte that would facilitate its manufacture in series is used. Actually, the crystal is a powder found between a solid and a viscous liquid. This crystal is applied to a matrix, which is a very thin paper.
In theory, the solid state battery would be the solution for the electric car boom. For example, currently the great problem of Lithium Ion batteries applied to the automotive industry is that it is limited and the time required for its recharging is exaggeratedly long. For many car manufacturers, there are two pitfalls that make an electric car unviable today. However, in a car equipped with a solid state battery these two weak points would be eliminated.
In lithium ion batteries, over time, ie with the life cycles (charge and discharge), the liquid lithium is solidified by passing through the separator between the anode and the cathode creating dendrites (or cavities). These dendrites will cause a drop in the performance of the battery and, in extreme cases, will cause overheating, a short circuit and even an explosion.
At present, lithium ion batteries are degraded over time, as we see in the figure.
All these problems mentioned above, as well as that of the fast recharge, the increase of charge cycles and the improvement of autonomy would be solved with our BATSOLID solid state battery.