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Are batteries the right option for a sustainable future?
International Lecture given by Professor Jean-Marie Tarascon ForMemRS.
The development of improved rechargeable batteries represents a major technological challenge for this new century, as batteries constitute the limiting components in the shift from gasoline powered to electric vehicles, while also enabling the use of more renewable energy on the grid. To minimize the ecological implications associated with their wider use, we must integrate sustainability of battery components into our research endeavors.
The challenges to developing batteries with minimal ecological footprints are enormous. They call for new materials and new concepts, as well as new chemical compositions.
The presentation addressed these different aspects. Firstly, regarding new concepts, we will show how the discovery of a reversible lithium--driven anionic redox process among lithium-rich layered oxides represents a transformational approach for creating materials with exacerbated capacities. Secondly, concerning sustainability, our new findings with the sodium ion chemistry which uses novel materials design together with the assembly of 18,650 prototypes were presented. Lastly, the future aspects of battery research was discussed.
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