Aluminum-sulfur batteries for LAN storage?

Lithium-sulfur batteries have been about to hit the market for a little while now, but nothing more has come on sale yet. There are still lifespan issues due to cell degradation, and news on developments seems to be drying up a bit. Fret not, because MIT has developed new battery technology using some of the most available and cheapest materials found on our planet. The developed Aluminum-Sulfur battery has very promising characteristics for use with static and automotive applications, including its scalability and incredible charge/discharge performance.

The cell is based on electrodes constructed from metallic aluminum and sulfur, with an electrolyte of molten catenated chloro-aluminate salts. With an operating temperature of around 100 degrees Celsius, you won't want that in a cell phone anytime soon, but that's not the point. The objective is the smoothing of renewable energies and the localized balancing of the electricity network. A major use case would be the mass charging of battery electric vehicles. As the number of charging points increases at a given location, the peak current needed by the grid also increases. Aluminum-sulfur batteries are said to offer the solution to facilitate this, with their high peak discharge current capability allowing for much higher peak power at the point of use.

Many of us now have solar home installations using LiFePo battery technology, with the cost of battery units limiting installed capacity. Aluminum-sulfur batteries could easily replace them at a fraction of the cost. With a cost per cell less than one-sixth that of lithium-ion and built from extremely common materials, this could be the technology that will disconnect us from global lithium and cobalt supply chains and enable many more people generate and make use of electricity in our own homes, after all the sun doesn't shine all day.

Lithium-sulfur technology is still promising, here's a little thing about it. If you're wondering what's wrong with lithium and why it might be a problem in the future, then check out this piece from a few years ago. Food for thought, certainly.

via [MIT News]