Commercialization & Innovative Development Of Lithium-Sulphur Batteries

Green energy is under huge demand due to the increasing environmental issues. Electronics is a sector that keeps growing with every passing year to bring something new to the table. Batteries with high energy density are required in setting up an environment accommodating all the essential features of a powerful system. Lithium and sulfur combined to form the batteries that became a breakthrough in 2009. This technology has attracted so much attention over the past decade to help the industry grow with time. It is also finding an application in academia to make significant progress towards safe execution of the theoretical concepts.

Many of the strategies may act in a different way when extended to a wide range of areas. The lapse between the commercialization and academic research of this unconventional battery is extensively studied to bring the necessary changes to the development practices. Let us look at the innovative impact on academia by the Li-S battery; also, we need to understand the commercial viability of the various options.

The Gap Between Commercialization and Academia

In most companies and universities, the Li-S batteries are under pilot-scale production because the complete potential of the materials is yet to be tapped into. No commercial Li-S batteries are available in the market to make this technological advancement accessible to the public. Fruitful results were developed by the scientists involved in the academic research of Li-S batteries. On the other hand, commercialization is dragging out due to the lack of resource allocation coordination in the industry.

In academia, everything is driving faster to the peak of development. However, the execution of these ideas may take years of effort and correction processes. The carbon used for the production of Li-S batteries is studied in theory on various levels, but the natural source of carbon is not being relied on for further research of the applications of these materials in the large-scale production of powerful cells.

Polysulfides can act as a hindrance to the proper functioning of the battery, with the shuttle effect causing the idea to falter. Coating multiple layers on the separator and electrode can reduce this effect. Using interlayers between the separator and cathode can also work for the same problem. The issue of dendritic Li growth is one of the major points being researched by many scientists. It has been found that the use of protective layers on the solid electrolytes, lithium metal, and electrolyte additives are the best solution to this detrimental growth.

Role of Projects in Commercialization

Multiple projects have been introduced in the past few years to develop the ability of the Li-S batteries to fulfill the power demands of a whole device or system. HELIS is one such name that attracted more people to the potential of Li-S cells. A conceptual design is being established through such projects to help reduce the gap between academia and commercialization.