Back in December of 2010, Toyota unveiled a prototype four-layer solid-state battery. The Japanese automaker touted the solid-state battery design for its longevity and ability to withstand extreme temperatures. Toyota engineers continue to focus on battery technology.
This time around, engineers at the automaker’s Advanced Battery Lab have developed a gas-based lithium battery that utilizes a mixture of O2 and CO2 (Li/O2-CO2) and is claimed to have a discharge capacity that’s nearly three times that of a standard lithium–air (Li/O2) battery.
Green Car Congress points out that Toyota’s researchers have concluded that the Li/O2-CO2 battery is non-rechargeable due to the difficulty of electrochemical decomposition of Li2/CO3 in the cathode, but claim that the battery’s exceptional discharge capacity offers the potential to either replace a vehicle’s primary battery or provide an additional energy source.
The graphical illustration (above) shows the discharge curves of the Li/O2-CO2 batteries with various ratios of CO2 mixed in. A paper detailing Toyota’s work with Li/O2-CO2 battery technology was published in the Royal Society of Chemistry journal, Chemical Communications, which can be viewed, for a fee, by clicking here.
[Source: Green Car Congress]
