Graphene battery for electric vehicle

Many believe that the future of the automotive industry is behind electric cars. Abroad, there are bills whereby part of the cars sold annually must either be hybrids or run on electricity, so money is invested not only in advertising such cars, but also in the construction of gas stations.

However, many people still wait for electric cars to become real rivals to traditional cars. Or maybe it will be when the charging time decreases, and the battery life increases? Perhaps in this humanity will help graphene batteries.

What is graphene?

The revolutionary material of the new generation, the lightest and strongest, the most electrically conductive, is all about graphene, which is nothing more than a two-dimensional carbon lattice one atom thick. The creators of graphene, Konstantin Novoselov and Andrei Geim, received the Nobel Prize. Usually, between the discovery and the beginning of the practical use of this discovery, in practice it takes a long time, sometimes even tens of years, but graphene did not suffer such a fate. Perhaps this is due to the fact that Novoselov and Geim did not hide the technology of its production.

They not only told the world about it, but also showed: there is a video on YouTube, where Konstantin Novoselov tells in detail about this technology. Therefore, perhaps soon we can even make graphene batteries with our own hands.

Developments

Attempts to use graphene were practically in all fields of science. He tried it in solar batteries, headphones, cases and even tried to treat cancer. However, at the moment, one of the most promising and necessary things for mankind is a graphene battery. Recall that with such an undisputed advantage as cheap and environmentally friendly fuel, electric vehicles have a serious drawback - a relatively small maximum speed and a power reserve of not more than three hundred kilometers.

The solution of the problem

The graphene battery operates on the same principle as lead with alkaline or acid electrolyte. This principle is an electrochemical reaction. According to the device, a graphene battery is similar to a lithium-ion battery with a solid electrolyte, in which the cathode is coal coke that is close in composition to pure carbon.

However already now among engineers developing graphene accumulators, there are two fundamentally different directions. In the United States, scientists suggested making a cathode from plates of graphene and silicon interleaved, and the anode from classical lithium cobalt. Russian engineers found another solution. Toxic and expensive lithium salt can be replaced by a more environmentally friendly and cheap magnesium oxide. The capacity of the battery is increased in any case by increasing the speed of the passage of ions from one electrode to another. This is achieved due to the fact that graphene has a high index of electrical permeability and the ability to accumulate electric charge.

The opinions of scientists on innovation are divided: Russian engineers claim that graphene batteries have a capacity twice as large as lithium-ion batteries, but their foreign colleagues claim that at ten.

Graphene accumulators are launched in mass production in 2015. For example, this is the Spanish company Graphenano. According to the manufacturer, the use of these batteries in electric cars on logistics sites shows the real practical possibilities of a battery with a graphene cathode. To fully charge, it takes only eight minutes. The maximum mileage is also capable of increasing graphene accumulators. Charging 1000 km instead of three hundred - that's what the Graphenano Corporation wants to offer to consumers.

Spain and China

With Graphenano, the Chinese company Chint, which bought a 10% stake in the Spanish corporation for 18 million euros, is cooperating. Joint funds will be used to build a factory with twenty production lines. The project has already received about 30 million investments, which will be invested in equipment installation and hiring of employees. According to the original plan, the plant was to start producing about 80 million batteries. At the initial stage, the main market should be China, and then it was planned to start deliveries to other countries.

In the second stage, Chint is ready to invest 350 million euros to build another plant, which will have about five thousand employees. Such figures are not surprising, given that the total revenue will be about three billion euros. In addition, China, known for its environmental problems, will be provided with environmentally friendly and cheap "fuel." However, as we can see, in addition to loud statements, the light did not see anything, only test models. Although the corporation Volkswagen also announced its intention to cooperate with Graphenano.

Expectations and Reality

In the courtyard of 2017, which means that Graphenano are engaged in "mass" production of batteries for two years, but to find an electric car on the road is a rarity not only for Russia. All the characteristics and data promulgated by the corporation are rather vague. In general, they do not go beyond the generally accepted theoretical notions about what parameters a graphene battery for an electric vehicle should possess.

In addition, until now everything that was presented to both consumers and investors is only computer models, no real prototypes. Adding problems and the fact that graphene - a material that is very expensive in production. Despite loud statements of scientists on how it can be "printed on the knee," at this stage, only the cost of certain components can be reduced.

Graphene and world market

Supporters of all conspiracy theories will say that the appearance of such a car is of no benefit to anyone, because then the oil will go to the background, and hence the revenues from its extraction will be reduced. However, most likely, the engineers encountered some problems, but they do not want to advertise it. The word "graphene" is now at the hearing, many consider it the material of the future, so, perhaps, scientists do not want to spoil its glory.

Problems in development

However, it can also be that the material is really innovative, so the approach requires an appropriate one. Perhaps batteries using graphene should be fundamentally different from traditional lithium-ion or lithium-polymer.

There is one more theory. Corporation Graphenano said that the new batteries are charged in just eight minutes. Specialists confirm that it is really possible, only the power source must be at least one megawatt, which is possible in the test conditions at the plant, but not at home. Construction of a sufficient number of gas stations with this capacity will cost a lot of money, the price of one recharging will be quite high, so a graphene battery for a car will not bring any benefit.

Practice shows that revolutionary technologies have been built into the world market for a long time. It is necessary to conduct many tests to ensure the safety of the product, so the emergence of new technological devices is sometimes delayed for many years.