customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

knowledgeQuestion

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Victoria Bela

Chinese scientists say they have developed a rechargeable calcium-based battery that could offer a cheaper and more sustainable alternative to lithium technology.
The team also incorporated their calcium-oxygen device into fibres to create a flexible textile battery that could power a smartphone.
Made from a metal 2,500 times more abundant than lithium, their battery was able to stably charge and discharge completely 700 times at room temperature – a first for the calcium-based technology.
“[The battery could turn] calcium chemistry into a promising, sustainable energy-storage technology,” the team from China’s Fudan University said in a paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature.
Lithium-ion batteries are known for their high energy density – or energy storage capacity relative to weight or size – and are the most widely used worldwide.
However, ensuring a reliable supply of lithium is critical to expanding on sustainable industries like renewable energy storage and electric vehicles.
China unearths million-tonne lithium deposit, in boon to EV battery industry
The International Energy Agency has forecast lithium shortages by next year as demand for EVs surges amid a global net zero push. Mining lithium is also a costly and highly water-intensive process.
Batteries made from calcium were “expected to be cheaper and safer than lithium-ion batteries” while offering a comparable theoretical energy capacity, the paper said.
The team said that of the types of calcium-based batteries, calcium-oxygen systems had the “highest theoretical energy density”. This is because the fuel for the battery comes from oxygen in the air rather than a material stored inside the battery.
However, calcium-oxygen batteries do not operate stably at room temperature, and thus far a rechargeable battery capable of doing so had “not been achieved”, according to the paper published on Wednesday.
Finding an electrolyte – the component in a battery that enables it to charge and discharge – that did not cause calcium reactions that limited battery capacity had been a major challenge for researchers, the team wrote.
To solve this problem, the Fudan team created a liquid-based electrolyte that could house both the calcium and oxygen components of the battery.
The rechargeable battery they produced could offer a cheaper alternative to lithium-based batteries, with potentially wide-ranging applications, the team said.


“The proposed calcium-oxygen battery is stable in air and can be made into flexible fibres that are weaved into textile batteries for next-generation wearable systems,” the team wrote.
After depositing the components of the battery onto fibres, the researchers found that their fibre battery was able to operate stably even when bent from zero to 180 degrees.
“Using a commercial braiding machine, we wove these fibre batteries into breathable and flexible battery textiles that can power electronic devices such as mobile phones,” the paper said.
While the performance and capacity of their battery was still limited, the team said further engineering could improve the operation of their battery, and that their research also opened more avenues to produce calcium batteries with other materials.


Is laughter the best medicine for dry eye disease? Chinese and UK scientists investigate

Why death of star scientist Li Haizeng, 34, has Chinese researchers taking note

Starlink radiation makes stealth target glow on Chinese radar

China sets some global standards for 6G tech as it looks towards next-gen communications

Science

Chinese scientists say new calcium-based battery offers ‘cheaper, safer’ alternative to lithium-ion cells

The calcium-oxygen battery is stable in air and can be made into flexible fibres to produce next-generation wearable systems, according to the scientists behind the feat. Photo: Fudan University

Quantum breakthrough: Chinese scientists settle 20-year physics debate with new simulator

Team from University of Science and Technology of China has observed and quantified a phenomenon called a “pairing pseudogap” within a model gas for the first time. Photo: USTC

Findings related to electron-pairing seen to chime with Chinese myth of “Carp Leaping Over a Dragon Gate”. Photo: USTC

China’s overseas investments to go green in 2024,  ‘clear need’ for Belt and Road Initiative to focus on renewable energy

China is likely to pursue mining and energy development through investment projects and construction contracts, according to the the Green Finance and Development Centre at Fudan University. Photo: Reuters

China is likely to pursue mining and energy development through investment projects and construction contracts, according to the the Green Finance and Development Centre at Fudan University. Photo: EPA-EFE

Ultrathin smart fibre created by Singapore, China researchers seen as ‘leap’ forward in wearable tech

A smart watch with a flexible band able to measure heart rates is among the innovative uses for the new smart fibre described in a Nature article by the team behind the feat. Photo: Handout

High-performance flexible semiconductor fibres seen wrapped around a cylindrical bobbin. Photo: Handout

News

China

Fudan University team creates battery able to charge and discharge fully 700 times at room temperature, in a first for the calcium-based technology
With calcium 2,500 times more abundant than lithium, battery offers viable option with possibly comparable energy density, team says in Nature paper


With calcium 2,500 times more abundant than lithium, battery offers viable option with theoretically comparable energy density, Fudan University scientists say in paper for Nature.


Chinese scientists say new calcium-based battery offers ‘cheaper, safer’ alternative to lithium-ion cells

Fudan University team creates battery able to charge and discharge fully 700 times at room temperature, in a first for the calcium-based technology With calcium 2,500 times more abundant than lithium, battery offers viable option with possibly comparable energy density, team says in Nature paper

Fudan University team creates battery able to charge and discharge fully 700 times at room temperature, in a first for the calcium-based technology

With calcium 2,500 times more abundant than lithium, battery offers viable option with possibly comparable energy density, team says in Nature paper