Toshiba doubles driving range of fast charge lithium batteries
The new battery offers high- energy density and the ultra-rapid recharging required for automotive applications, and will give a compact electric vehicle (EV) with a drive range of 320km after only six minutes of ultra-rapid recharging—three times the distance possible with current lithium-ion batteries.
Toshiba launched the SCiB battery technology in 2008 but has been talking about the new verson for the last few months with little detail. The next-generation SCiB uses a titanium niobium oxide anode material that has double the lithium storage capacity by volume of the graphite-based anodes generally used in lithium-ion batteries. This compares to the current SCiB that employs a lithium titanium oxide anode and has been used in cars, elevators and power plants.
The new battery also offers high energy density and ultra-rapid recharging characteristics, and its titanium niobium oxide anode is much less likely to experience the dentrites that form with rapid charging and can cause internal short cirtuits and fires.
Toshiba has also developed a proprietary method for synthesizing and disarranging crystals of titanium niobium oxide and storing lithium ions more efficiently in the crystal structure. The anode of the next-generation SCiB has twice the capacity of the anode of current lithium-ion batteries. The current 20Ah SCiB cell has an energy density of 176Wh/L.
“We are very excited by the potential of the new titanium niobium oxide anode and the next-generation SCiB,” said Dr. Osamu Hori, Director of Corporate Research & Development Center at Toshiba Corporation. “Rather than an incremental improvement, this is a game changing advance that will make a significant difference to the range and performance of EV. We will continue to improve the battery’s performance and aim to put the next-generation SCiB into practical application in fiscal year 2019.”
Next: 50Ah prototype
A 50Ah prototype of the new battery technology keeps the long life cycle, low-temperature operation, excellent safety and rapid recharging characteristics of the current SCiB with double the energy density by volume. The next-generation SCiB also maintains over 90% of its initial capacity after being put through 5,000 charge/discharge cycles, and ultra-rapid recharging can be done in cold conditions, with temperatures as low as -10°C, in just ten minutes.
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