Chemistry is driving the charge on battery technology

Electric vehicles are part of the answer to shift our reliance on fossil fuels. By improving electric vehicle range and battery life and reducing charge times, the speed of this transition will undoubtedly increase.

The chemical sciences community is already improving existing technologies. Researchers at the Energy Matters group at the University of Birmingham are using a microorganism similar to apple mould to separate and purify the different materials in lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles so that they can be reused or recycled. Meanwhile Echion Technologies, a startup with Cambridge University, has significantly reduced the charge time of lithium-ion batteries whilst dramatically increasing their life. Echion Technologies is introducing a niobium based material into lithium-ion cells which has reduced the charge time to six minutes and increased the lifespan from 1,000-2,000 cycles, to 10,000-30,000.

The Royal Society of Chemistry is pushing for change. We are working hard to influence government policies on the need for better recycling. We are also awarding grants to research teams and have recently supported the team at UCL who are also developing new technologies that help extend the life of electric vehicle batteries.