GE to develop ‘immortal’ battery with self-healing metals
Researchers at GE in the US are developing a solid state lithium ion battery cell that they say can have almost unlimited lifetime by using self-healing materials.
The $6m InterMetallic MORphogen Tailored Activity Lithium (IMMORTAL) battery project is developing a new intermetallic solid/solid charge transfer interface material for the project.
Working with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the University of Michigan, University of California Santa Barbara, and Storagenergy, they are using AI and machine learning models to develop and demonstrate a prototype cell.
This is part of $11 million through the Defense Advanced Research Agency’s (DARPA) Morphogenic Interfaces (MINT) programme.
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“Today, we think of most things as having a finite lifecycle, determined by the rate at which parts wear out. Biological systems extend their lifetime by using complex chemical processes and feedback to keep components from failing, but what if we could arrange the chemical processes in simpler, non-living systems, like batteries, to preclude degradation and extend life? That’s the essence of what we’re creating with the IMMORTAL battery,” said Joseph Shiang, a Principal Scientist in the technical area of Materials Physics & Processes, working in the Ceramics Lab at GE Research, and leading the project.
Other projects in MINT include the development of a deep neural network model to design an intermetallic solid/solid charge transfer interface material as well as the development of soft solid materials for solid state batteries with Carnegie Mellon University, MIT, Harvard University, Argonne National Laboratory, 24M Technologies and QuantumScape.