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Energy storage

A two-salt solution for batteries

Nature Sustainability volume 6, pages 239–240 (2023)Cite this article

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Rechargeable aqueous zinc batteries are promising candidates for large-scale energy storage, but their operation is suboptimal at low temperatures. An electrolyte solution comprising two salts now enables unprecedented battery performance across a wide temperature range.

Prices for lithium have surged more than 500% over the past year amid strong demand for electric vehicles that are powered by lithium-ion batteries1. And whether its supply and the availability of other key elements such as cobalt will satisfy this rapidly growing energy-storage market is a subject of constant debate. One of the most promising alternatives to these batteries is a rechargeable aqueous battery containing zinc, which is relatively abundant and has a well-established recycling infrastructure. However, water-based electrolyte solutions can impair the reversibility of the zinc electrode, reduce its energy efficiency and induce sluggish ion transport at low temperatures. Writing in Nature Sustainability, Yang et al.2 show that a zinc salt and a lithium salt can be used synergistically to overcome these issues, giving rise to highly reversible zinc electrodes that can operate across temperatures from −70 °C to 80 °C.

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Fig. 1: A dual-salt electrolyte solution for rechargeable aqueous zinc batteries.

References

  1. Schulz, B. The ‘white gold’ rush: Why lithium demand is skyrocketing and what it means for consumers (USA Today, 2022); https://go.nature.com/3XHyYiX

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA

    Yanliang Liang

  2. Texas Center for Superconductivity at the University of Houston (TcSUH), Houston, TX, USA

    Yanliang Liang

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  1. Yanliang Liang
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Correspondence to Yanliang Liang.

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The author declares no competing interests.

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Liang, Y. A two-salt solution for batteries. Nat Sustain 6, 239–240 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-022-01029-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-022-01029-w

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