Stanford alkali metal-chlorine battery holds six times more energy

Stanford University researchers led a team that developed a new metal-chlorine battery that can store six times more energy than current state-of-the-art batteries.

Stanford University and a group of worldwide researchers created a new battery known as alkali metal-chlorine batteries, and they recently released a paper explaining their breakthrough.

The new form of battery has the potential to allow electronics such as cell phones and other electronic devices to be charged weekly rather than daily.

The new battery chemistry might also be utilized to allow electric vehicles to travel six times further before needing to be recharged. That means that an electric vehicle capable of driving 200 miles per charge day might now drive up to 1200 miles per charge with the new alkali metal-chlorine battery.

The new battery chemistry involves the conversion of sodium chloride or lithium chloride to chlorine.

The fact is that the conversion process is reversible. When the battery drains, electrons flow from one side to the other, and when the battery recharges, electrons travel in the other manner.

When the researchers began the endeavor, they had no intention of making a breakthrough in battery technology. The team did not set out with the intention of developing rechargeable sodium and lithium-chlorine batteries. Rather, they aimed to improve existing battery technology by employing thionyl chloride.

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