The world of electrification is rapidly evolving, with battery technology at its very core. At the recent Future of Electrification conference, Matthew Moore, an Application Engineer from Zivan, a company within the ZAPI Group, discussed the fascinating landscape of battery chemistries and their interactions with charging systems.
The Enduring Journey of Battery Technology
Batteries fundamentally store energy through a chemical reaction between an anode, cathode, and electrolyte. This journey began in the 1800s with lead-acid batteries, which quickly dominated for their low cost, simplicity, and proven durability, despite being heavy and inefficient. These are still widely found in cars, forklifts, and backup power systems, though they suffer from low energy density, slow charge times, and a shorter lifespan due to issues like sulfation.
The evolution continued with nickel-cadmium (NiCd) and nickel-metal hydride (NiMH), offering improvements in life cycle and discharge rates. While NiCd excelled in power tools and commercial aircraft, it suffered from a "memory effect" and high self-discharge. NiMH, a less toxic alternative, provided higher energy density but still faced high self-discharge and lower performance in extreme temperatures.
A significant leap came with lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries, which have become widely popular due to their improved energy density, lighter weight, and longer life cycles. Varieties like Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) are particularly favored in non-road mobile machinery (NRMM) for their durability and operational temperature range, potentially lasting up to 10,000 cycles. However, Li-ion batteries face challenges such as the risk of thermal runaway, higher costs, recycling difficulties, and concerns over sourcing materials like cobalt and nickel.
Powering Tomorrow: Emerging Battery Chemistries
The limitations of current Li-ion technology are propelling the research and development of groundbreaking new chemistries, promising enhanced performance, sustainability, and cost-effectiveness.
- Solid-State Batteries: These represent a major stride by replacing the liquid electrolyte in Li-ion with a solid one, significantly enhancing safety by reducing combustibility. They offer higher energy density, faster recharging, and longer lifespans. While they require more lithium and are currently more expensive with complex manufacturing, they are being developed for electric vehicles and industrial machinery and are "on the horizon" for mass production.
- Sodium-Ion Batteries: With a structure similar to lithium-ion, sodium-ion batteries offer a more abundant, cheaper, and non-explosive alternative. Though currently having less energy density and a shorter life cycle than lithium, the ease of transitioning production lines makes them a promising future contender.
- Calcium-Ion Batteries: Leveraging calcium, which is 2,500 times more abundant than lithium, these batteries aim for comparable energy density by utilizing oxygen from the air as part of their fuel source, reducing reliance on scarce resources. The main challenge lies in their sensitivity to incorrect charging, which can limit their life and performance.
- Zinc-Air Batteries: Composed of copper and zinc reacting with oxygen from the air, these batteries are cheaper, safer than lithium-ion, and boast good energy density. While currently used in low-drain devices like hearing aids, they have the potential to replace lithium in the future. Their performance can be temperamental with extreme ambient temperatures or humidity.
- Silicon Anode Batteries: Aiming to address the cobalt supply chain issues, silicon as an anode material can lead to 20-40% higher energy density and significantly increased capacity, potentially enabling EVs to have 50% more range and charge 80% in just 6 minutes. The primary challenge is the high volume expansion of silicon during charge cycles, leading to mechanical wear.
- Lithium-Sulfur Batteries: Offering up to 50% weight and 40% cost savings, these non-toxic batteries are twice as energy dense as LFP. However, their low life cycle, also due to volume expansion, remains a research hurdle.
- Magnesium-Ion Batteries: With two electrons compared to lithium's single, magnesium-ion batteries theoretically offer higher and more efficient charge storage. Like sodium, magnesium is more readily available and less explosive, but unreliable cycle performance and high cost are current downsides.
These emerging chemistries collectively aim to address the critical concerns of environmental sustainability, ethics, and supply chain stability associated with current battery production.
Intelligent Charging: The Role of BMS and Advanced Systems
As battery technologies advance, so too must the systems that manage and charge them. The Battery Management System (BMS) is crucial for lithium-ion batteries, monitoring cells, balancing charge, managing temperature, assessing state of charge (SoC) and state of health (SoH), and protecting against overcharging, over-discharging, and short circuits. For emerging chemistries, BMS innovations will be critical, requiring adaptation to new voltage ranges, charge cycles, energy densities, and thermal profiles, along with more sophisticated charging algorithms and improved communication protocols.
Zivan chargers are versatile, supporting both lithium and lead-acid batteries, though switching between them requires a simple firmware change. For lead-acid batteries, Zivan offers pre-installed charging curves, including a fully customizable CU4 curve, allowing control over current, voltage, and time of each phase. For lithium-based batteries, Zivan's proprietary RE firmware incorporates industry standards like J1939. Their offboard fast chargers, like the MG line, can deliver up to 36 kW and be linked in parallel for even faster recharge times.
Environmental conditions significantly impact battery performance; extreme temperatures can affect charge rates, efficiency, and lifespan. Zivan chargers include battery temperature monitoring to prevent overheating and will stop charging if temperatures rise too high. Humidity also plays a role, especially for air-leveraging batteries like zinc-air.
To optimize battery life and charging processes, Zivan also offers recharge rooms with systems like the "Take" (first-in, first-out) and the proprietary "Brain" system. The Brain system uses an internal algorithm to assess battery state of health and select the optimal charging curve, offering remote monitoring and management capabilities. These systems, typically designed for lead-acid batteries, help prolong their life and are fully overseen by Zivan, eliminating the need for third-party integration.
Unlocking the Full Potential
The future of batteries is undoubtedly exciting. While emerging chemistries like solid-state, sodium-ion, calcium-ion, and zinc-air offer immense potential, they also present challenges in performance, lifespan, and scalability. Overcoming these hurdles will require close collaboration between manufacturers, OEMs, and R&D teams, alongside continued investment in new production facilities. The development of hybrid solutions combining existing and new chemistries, coupled with adapting to these advancements, will be key to unlocking the full potential of energy storage and revolutionizing industrial electrification.
To learn more, watch the full session here: