Go against degradation

The progressive deterioration is another of the main problems of current lithium ion batteries. The repeated load that we make of them, especially in mobile phones, causes a rapid degradation and a loss of part of its effectiveness after about a year of use. The useful life of the batteries is approximately 1,000 complete charge and discharge cycles, and at the moment no possibility of extending it has been found. Scientists are studying methods and structures of new batteries to extend lifespan by facilitating fast charging while avoiding lithium deposition on the anode. They are also exploring new avenues such as replacing batteries with flexible supercapacitors or in the form of cables that promise a full charge in seconds and a useful life of 30,000 charge and discharge cycles, and that would take up much less space than current batteries.

On the other hand, the new proposals include different solutions for different uses. One example is flow batteries that store energy in external liquid tanks, and could last more than a decade without degrading. A battery of this type developed at Harvard University uses organic molecules dissolved in water with a neutral pH, a formulation so stable that the batteries are also considerably safer, since this solution does not contain corrosive or toxic elements. These types of batteries are suitable for storing energy produced by solar or wind power plants, but could also be adapted for use in homes.
These batteries could help mitigate another of the current problems: their ecological impact. In addition to using toxic and corrosive compounds, lithium-ion batteries have such a high environmental cost —mainly due to the mining of metals and rare earths used in their production— that manufacturing an electric vehicle has a greater pollution and emissions footprint than another conventional. However, this is later compensated for throughout its useful life.
But on the road to those greener batteries, a current trend is exploring solid-state batteries, which replace liquid or gel electrolyte with a solid one, achieving greater energy storage with longer life and greater safety with less toxicity, although its counterpart is its slower load. This technology is currently being applied to lithium-ion batteries and is already being targeted for commercial use in automobiles, although at the moment its price is high.
In short, there are many and varied paths that are being opened today towards the achievement of new, more capable, faster, safer and more sustainable batteries, using alternative materials such as manganese, sodium, silicon or vanadium, dispensing with others increasingly expensive and scarce such as cobalt —present in lithium ion—, and applying designs based on nanotechnology. At the moment, the vast majority of these proposals are in the research, development or experimental phase, and there is still no clear winner in sight that promises to make our old and familiar lithium-ion batteries obsolete. It is foreseeable that we will still depend on them in the near future. But given that experts warn of a foreseeable shortage of lithium in just a few years, the batteries of the future will have to charge their batteries to quickly jump from the laboratories to our devices.