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by Chris Woodford. Last updated: December 29, 2017.

Power to go-that's the promise batteries deliver. They give us all the convenience of electricity in a handy, portable form. The only trouble is, most batteries run flat very quickly and, unless you use a specialized charger, you then have to throw them away. It's hard on your pocket and bad for the environment as well: worldwide, we throw away billions of disposable batteries every single year. Rechargeable batteries help to solve this problem and the best kind use a technology called lithium ion. Your cellphone, laptop computer, and MP3 player probably all use lithium-ion batteries. They've been in widespread use since about 1991, but the basic chemistry was first discovered by American chemist Gilbert Lewis (1875-1946) way back in 1912. Let's take a closer look at how they work!

Photo: A lithium-ion battery, such as this one from a laptop, is made from a number of power-producing units called cells. Each cell produces about 3-4 volts, so a lithium ion battery that produces 10-16 volts typically needs three to four cells. This battery is rated as 10.8 volts and has three cells inside.

The trouble with ordinary batteries

If you've read our main article on batteries, you'll know a battery is essentially a chemical experiment happening in a small metal canister. Connect the two ends of a battery to something like a flashlight and chemical reactions begin: chemicals inside the battery slowly but systematically break apart and join themselves together to make other chemicals, producing a stream of positively charged particles called ions and negatively charged electrons. The ions move through the battery; the electrons go through the circuit to which the battery's connected, providing electrical energy that drives the flashlight. The only trouble is, this chemical reaction can happen only once and in only one direction: that's why ordinary batteries usually can't be recharged.

Photo: Ordinary batteries, such as this zinc carbon one, cannot be recharged because the chemical reactions that generate the power are not reversible.

Rechargeable batteries = reversible reactions

Different chemicals are used in rechargeable batteries and they split apart through entirely different reactions. The big difference is that the chemical reactions in a rechargeable battery are reversible: when the battery is discharging the reactions go one way and the battery gives out power; when the battery is charging, the reactions go in the opposite direction and the battery absorbs power. These chemical reactions can happen hundreds of times in both directions, so a rechargeable battery will typically give you anything from two or three to as much as 10 years of useful life (depending on how often you use it and how well you look after it).

How lithium-ion batteries work

Photo: Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries are less environmentally damaging than batteries containing heavy metals such as cadmium and mercury, but recycling them is still far preferable to incinerating them or sending them to landfill.

Like any other battery, a rechargeable lithium-ion battery is made of one or more power-generating compartments called cells. Each cell has essentially three components: a positive electrode (connected to the battery's positive or + terminal), a negative electrode (connected to the negative or − terminal), and a chemical called an electrolyte in between them. The positive electrode is typically made from a chemical compound called lithium-cobalt oxide (LiCoO2) or, in newer batteries, from lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4). The negative electrode is generally made from carbon (graphite) and the electrolyte varies from one type of battery to another-but isn't too important in understanding the basic idea of how the battery works.

All lithium-ion batteries work in broadly the same way. When the battery is charging up, the lithium-cobalt oxide, positive electrode gives up some of its lithium ions, which move through the electrolyte to the negative, graphite electrode and remain there. The battery takes in and stores energy during this process. When the battery is discharging, the lithium ions move back across the electrolyte to the positive electrode, producing the energy that powers the battery. In both cases, electrons flow in the opposite direction to the ions around the outer circuit. Electrons do not flow through the electrolyte: it's effectively an insulating barrier, so far as electrons are concerned.

The movement of ions (through the electrolyte) and electrons (around the external circuit, in the opposite direction) are interconnected processes, and if either stops so does the other. If ions stop moving through the electrolyte because the battery completely discharges, electrons can't move through the outer circuit either-so you lose your power. Similarly, if you switch off whatever the battery is powering, the flow of electrons stops and so does the flow of ions. The battery essentially stops discharging at a high rate (but it does keep on discharging, at a very slow rate, even with the appliance disconnected).

Unlike simpler batteries, lithium-ion ones have built in electronic controllers that regulate how they charge and discharge. They prevent the overcharging and overheating that can cause lithium-ion batteries to explode in some circumstances.

How a lithium-ion battery charges and discharges

Animation: Charging and discharging a lithium-ion battery.

As their name suggests, lithium-ion batteries are all about the movement of lithium ions: the ions move one way when the battery charges (when it's absorbing power); they move the opposite way when the battery discharges (when it's supplying power):

1. During charging, lithium ions (yellow circles) flow from the positive electrode (red) to the negative electrode (blue) through the electrolyte (gray). Electrons also flow from the positive electrode to the negative electrode, but take the longer path around the outer circuit. The electrons and ions combine at the negative electrode and deposit lithium there.

2. When no more ions will flow, the battery is fully charged and ready to use.

3. During discharging, the ions flow back through the electrolyte from the negative electrode to the positive electrode. Electrons flow from the negative electrode to the positive electrode through the outer circuit, powering your laptop. When the ions and electrons combine at the positive electrode, lithium is deposited there.

4. When all the ions have moved back, the battery is fully discharged and needs charging up again.

How are the lithium ions stored?

Animation: How lithium ions are stored in the negative graphite electrode (left) and positive cobalt-oxide electrode (right).

This second animation shows what's going on in the battery in a bit more detail. Again, the negative graphite electrode (blue) is shown on the left, the positive cobalt-oxide electrode (red) on the right, and the lithium ions are represented by yellow circles. When the battery is fully charged, all the lithium ions are stored between layers of graphene (sheets of carbon one atom thick) in the graphite electrode (they have all moved over to the left). In this charged-up state, the battery is effectively a multi-layer sandwich: graphene layers alternate with lithium ion layers. As the battery discharges, the ions migrate from the graphite electrode to the cobalt-oxide electrode (from left to right). When it's fully discharged, all the lithium ions have moved over to the cobalt-oxide electrode on the right. Once again, the lithium ions sit in layers, in between layers of cobalt ions (red) and oxide ions (blue). As the battery charges and discharges, the lithium ions shunt back and forth from one electrode to the other.

Advantages of lithium-ion batteries

Generally, lithium ion batteries are more reliable than older technologies such as nickel-cadmium (NiCd, pronounced "nicad") and don't suffer from a problem known as the "memory effect" (where nicad batteries appear to become harder to charge unless they're discharged fully first). Since lithium-ion batteries don't contain cadmium (a toxic, heavy metal), they are also (in theory, at least) better for the environment-although dumping any batteries (full of metals, plastics, and other assorted chemicals) into landfills is never a good thing. Compared to heavy-duty rechargeable batteries (such as the lead-acid ones used to start cars), lithium-ion batteries are relatively light for the amount of energy they store.

Photo: Lightweight lithium-ion batteries are used in a number of cutting-edge
electric cars, including the pioneering Tesla Roadster. It takes roughly 3.5 hours to charge its 6831 lithium-ion cells, which together weigh a whopping one half a tonne (1100 lb). Fully charged, they give the car a range of over 350km (220 miles). Left: You can see the yellow power lead charging the batteries. Right: The batteries are in the large compartment you can see directly above the back wheel. First photo: Tesla Inside; Second photo Shiny New Tesla. Both by courtesy of Steve Jurvetson, published on Flickr in 2007 under a Creative Commons licence.

Disadvantages of lithium-ion batteries

If we're interested in the drawbacks of lithium-ion batteries, it's important to bear in mind what we're comparing them with. As a power source for automobiles, we really need to compare them not with other types of batteries but with gasoline. Despite considerable advances over the years, kilo for kilo, rechargeable batteries still store only a fraction as much energy as ordinary gas; in more scientific words, they have a much lower energy density (they store less energy per unit of weight). That also explains why you can fully "recharge" (refuel) a gas-powered automobile in a couple of minutes, whereas it'll generally take you hours to recharge the batteries in an electric car. Then again, you have to bear in mind that these disadvantages are balanced by other advantages, such as the greater fuel economy of electric cars and their relative lack of air pollution (zero emissions from the vehicle itself).

Photo: Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries can inflate like little cushions if they don't have a means of venting any gases produced during charging (mainly carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen, though smaller amounts of other organic gases may also be present). Here are two identical batteries from a cellphone, the top one of which has almost doubled in width due to the trapped gases inside.

Leaving aside vehicles and considering lithium-ion batteries more generally, what are the problems? The biggest issue is safety: Li-ion batteries will catch fire if they're overcharged or if an internal malfunction causes a short circuit; in both cases, the batteries heat up in what's called a "thermal runaway," eventually catching fire or exploding. That problem is solved with a built-in circuit breaker, known as a current interrupt device or CID, which kills the charging current when the voltage reaches a maximum, if the batteries get too hot, or their internal pressure rises too high. But there remain concerns and, in 2016, the International Civil Aviation Organization officially prohibited shipments of lithium-ion batteries on passenger planes because of the potential danger. Now the safety risks of lithium batteries have attracted lots of media attention-especially when they've caused fires to break out in electric cars or on airplanes-but it's worth bearing in mind how few incidents there have been given how common the technology is (you'll find lithium-ion batteries in every modern cellphone, laptop, tablet, and most other rechargeable gadgets). And, once again, it's important to bear in mind the risks of the alternatives: yes, lithium-ion batteries in electric cars can catch fire-but gasoline-powered automobiles catch fire much more often... and cause actual explosions! Other types of batteries can also catch fire and explode if they overheat, so fire isn't a problem that's unique to lithium-ion technology.

Artwork: A lithium-ion battery has a current interrupt device (CID) inside to stop it overheating. Here's one example of how it can work. The two battery electrodes (green, 12 and 14) sit inside a case (light blue, 22) with a lid on top (dark blue, 24). One of the electrodes (14) is connected to its top terminal (42) through the CID (28), which is made of three parts. There are two metal conducting discs (red, 30 and 32) with an insulator (purple, 34) in between them. Normally the discs are touching and allow current to flow from the electrode to its terminal. But if the battery overheats and pressure builds up inside, the discs are pushed apart and stop any more current flowing. Any excess gas vents through small slits (yellow, 56) in the sides of the case. Artwork from US Patent 4,423,125: Integrated current-interrupt device for lithium-ion cells by Phillip Partin et al, Boston-Power, Inc., courtesy of US Patent and Trademark Office.

Who invented lithium-ion batteries?

Handy, helpful lithium-ion power packs were pioneered at Oxford University in the 1970s by chemist John Goodenough and his colleagues Phil Wiseman, Koichi Mizushima, and Phil Jones. Their research was published in 1980 and turned into a commercial technology by Sony, who produced the first lithium ion batteries in the early 1990s. Since then, they've become commonplace: around 5 billion are manufactured every year (according to a Bloomberg news report from 2013), most of them in China.

Find out more

On this website

Books

Articles

New Analysis of Lithium-Ion Batteries Shows How to Pack in More Energy by Tracy Staedter. IEEE Spectrum, December 12, 2017. How can we make lithium-ion rechargeables hold more charge?

Designing a Safer Battery for Smartphones (That Won't Catch Fire) by John Markoff, The New York Times, 11 December 2016. Solid-polymer batteries now in development could solve the problem of compact gadgets accidentally catching fire.

Lithium-ion batteries banned as cargo on passenger flights by Reuters, The Guardian, 23 February 2016. A series of fires has prompted a complete ban on shipping Li-ion batteries onboard passenger airplanes.

Why lithium batteries keep catching fire: The Economist, 27 January 2014. A brief explanation of thermal runaways.

Battery that 'charges in seconds': BBC News, 11 March 2009. How a new method of producing lithium-ion batteries speeds up ion movement, allowing them to be charged in a fraction of the usual time.

Lithium-ion battery's place of origin awarded plaque: BBC News, 30 November 2010. The scientists who developed lithium-battery ion technology are recognized with a plaque at Oxford University's Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory.

Building a better battery by John Hockenberry, Wired 14.11, November 2006. An interesting look at the problems of lithium-ion batteries (things like thermal runaway) and the sorts of things engineers are trying to solve them.

Patents

If you're looking for much more detailed technical descriptions of lithium-ion batteries and their chemistry, try these:

US Patent 4,423,125: Ambient-temperature rechargeable battery by Samar Basu, Bell Labs. Issued December 27, 1983. A lithium battery that can charge and discharge many times.

US Patent 4,423,125: Cathode materials for secondary (rechargeable) lithium batteries by John B. Goodenough et al, Board of Regents, University of Texas Systems. Issued June 8, 1999. A detailed description of electrode materials used in lithium-ion batteries.

US Patent 4,423,125: Alloy composition for lithium ion batteries by Mark N. Obrovac et al, 3M. Issued January 11, 2011. Describes some of the latest advances in materials for lithium-ion batteries.

US Patent 4,423,125: Integrated current-interrupt device for lithium-ion cells by Phillip Partin et al, Boston-Power, Inc. Issued January 10, 2008. How the protective CID works in a typical lithium-ion battery.

More to explore on our website...

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by Chris Woodford. Last updated: December 29, 2017. Power to go-that's the promise batteries deliver. They give us all the convenience of electricity in a handy, portable form. The only trouble is, most batteries run flat very quickly and, unless you use a specialized charger, you then have to throw them away.

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Originally published on EV Obsession.

One of our readers, Peter Egan, recently passed along this automotive lithium-ion battery supply chain report. It's an interesting report that goes a bit deeper into the lithium-ion battery market than we normally dive. I pulled out 7-10 charts (depending on how you count) that I found quite interesting, and I've added notes about some of them in the captions.

Tags: Clean Energy Manufacturing Analysis Center

About the Author

Zachary Shahan Zach is tryin' to help society help itself (and other species) with the power of the word. He spends most of his time here on CleanTechnica as its director and chief editor, but he's also the president of Important Media and the director/founder of EV Obsession and . Zach is recognized globally as a solar energy, electric car, and energy storage expert. He has presented about cleantech at conferences in India, the UAE, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, the USA, and Canada. Zach has long-term investments in TSLA, FSLR, SPWR, SEDG, & ABB - after years of covering solar and EVs, he simply has a lot of faith in these particular companies and feels like they are good cleantech companies to invest in. But he offers no professional investment advice and would rather not be responsible for you losing money, so don't jump to conclusions.

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7-10 Lithium-Ion Battery Supply Chain Charts

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Facebook Twitter Google+ Pinterest January 5th, 2016 by Zachary Shahan Originally published on EV Obsession. One of our readers, Peter Egan, recently passed along this automotive lithium-ion battery supply chain report. It's an interesting report that goes a bit deeper into the lithium-ion battery market than we normally dive.

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Find bla. erhvervsfordelingen

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Leksikon artikel om Bolivia med fakta, statistik, hydrotermfigur, erhvervsfodeling, befolkningspyramide og printark til undervisning. Gode links til videre arbejde med Bolivia.

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Se side 4

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Nyeste video fra Sala de Unuya (maj 2917)

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Nyeste video fra Sala de Unuya (maj 2917)

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Lithium, the driving force of the 21st century

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Lithium, the driving force of 21st Century

The workers are drilling the salt with humongous rigs, aiming for the brine underneath at the world’ biggest salt flats at Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia. Lodged under enormous quantities of magnesium and potassium lies their goal: lithium, the essential power source for all the world's gadgets, the key component to fuel the 21-st century. 
The market for lithium carbonate is booming. According to estimates, it could easily triple in the next five years. Understandably, the price of the white powder itself is surging, lithium still being the most efficient battery component by far… Fuelling not only our mobile phones and laptops but also gaming consoles, solar panels, robots, energy storage systems and electric vehicles.
The depths under the salt flats are claimed to contain the world's largest lithium reserves. According to some estimates, the Bolivian Andes contain seventy percent of the planet's lithium. 
Soon after his ascent to power, Bolivian socialist president Evo Morales rode the crest of leftist policies in Latin America to nationalise all natural resources – from oil through natural gas to every kind of mineral one could imagine. The land's natural resources, for so long the curse of the Bolivian people, were finally to be turned into a great advantage, forming the core of the national economy and all the beneficial social programs Morales was aiming to implement. Yet so far, this sweeping idealistic vision has failed to materialise.
Some years and several reality-checks later the Bolivian market is clearly opening up. The Chinese are not the only ones to have expressed an interest: the Japanese, the Germans, the Swedes, the French, the Swiss, the Koreans and the Canadians were quick to follow suit. 
Eight years from now the world's yearly demand is expected to total 470 000 tons. One percent increase in electric vehicles production could increase lithium demand by more than 40 percent of current global production. Does that mean Bolivia is entering the scrum at an ideal time?
What will Salar de Uyuni look like in five years' time? What can 'the white gold' ultimately bring Bolivia?

Text: Boštjan Videmšek
Photos, Video, Editing: Matjaž Krivic
www.krivic.com

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Skitse til geologisk tværsnit

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http://services.google.com/earth/kmz/global_paleogeographic.kmz

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Coupled tectonic evolution of Andean orogeny and global climate - ScienceDirect

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The largest tectonic relief breaking the Earth's surface (13 km vertically) is at the subduction margin of the Andes, which generates routinely megathrust earthquakes (Mw > 8.5) and drives the paradigmatic Andean orogen. Here we present key geologic evidence to reassess first-order features of geomorphology and tectonics across the Central Andes, where the orogen includes the Altiplano Plateau and attains its maximum integrated height and width.

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Bruttonationalprodukt per indbygger (BNP) udtrykker værdien af alle varer og tjenester som produceres i et land i løbet af et år, minus de varer som bliver brugt i denne produktion. Summen divideres med antal indbyggere i landet. BNP per indbygger er en noget usikker størrelse og viser ikke de uligheder eller skæv fordeling af indkomsten, der kan være i et land.

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Politisk uro, kup og økonomiske kriser har præget Bolivias historie. Med 20 % af verdens tropiske gletschere er landet også særligt udsat for klimaændringer

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Se filmen og bliv introduceret til hvad lithium er for en størrelse. Hvor det findes, hvad det kan bruges til og hvilken rolle lithium spiller både nationalt og globalt. Hvad er et lithium-ion-batteri? Og er lithium virkelig nøglen til at løse verdens klimaproblemer?

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Se filmen og bliv ført med til Salar de Uyuni, saltsletten hvor verdens største forekomst af lithium findes. Få historien om udvindingsindustrien i Bolivia, og hvorfor det er så vigtigt for bolivianerne selv at udvinde og tjene pengene på lithiummet.

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WASHINGTON - MARAD Awards Contracts for $1.96 Billion to National Defense Reserve Fleet Vessels.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx today announced that DOT has awarded contracts with a total award value of $1.96 billion over eight years to seven U.S. maritime firms to manage, maintain and operate 48 National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) vessels through January 2024. These Maritime Administration contracts are funded by the Department of Defense (DoD) National Defense Sealift Fund to support DoD's strategic sealift mission.

"Since 1946, National Defense Reserve Fleet vessels have facilitated U.S. strategic sealift, natural disaster response, and humanitarian operations all around the world," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. "From supporting our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq and providing humanitarian support for Haiti, to supporting the United Nation's at-sea neutralization of Syria's chemical weapons - this fleet reliably, economically, and efficiently advances U.S. contributions to global peace and prosperity."

The eighteen contracts awarded to seven U.S. maritime firms total $953.5 million for the 4-year base contract which runs through January 2020. The contracts also include two, 2-year options bringing the total award value to $1.96 billion. The contracts were awarded to companies that offered the best value to the government. These seven companies are responsible for maintaining the ships in good mechanical condition and ensuring that crews are available to operate them when needed

Forty-six of the vessels are part of the Department of Transportation's Ready Reserve Force, a fleet managed by the Maritime Administration (MARAD) that provides rapid mass movement of Department of Defense equipment and supplies to support our Armed Forces, and also responds to national and humanitarian emergencies. Additionally, two vessels are used to support Missile Defense Agency operations. Each certified, mission-ready vessel is maintained so that it can be fully activated and deployed quickly. The 46 Ready Reserve Force vessels have been activated hundreds of times since 2002.

"The U.S. Merchant Marine and National Defense Reserve Fleet play a crucial role in our nation's security," said Maritime Administrator Paul 'Chip' Jaenichen. "These contract awards will allow our commercial maritime companies to continue providing top-notch support to our troops who are stationed or deployed around the world."

MARAD, which maintains the National Defense Reserve Fleet, promotes the development and maintenance of an adequate, well-balanced, United States merchant marine fleet, sufficient to carry the Nation's domestic waterborne commerce and a substantial portion of its waterborne foreign commerce, and capable of service as a naval and military auxiliary in time of war or national emergency. For more information on these ships, visit www.marad.dot.gov.

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MARAD Awards Contracts for $1.96 Billion to National Defense Reserve Fleet Vessels

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WASHINGTON - MARAD Awards Contracts for $1.96 Billion to National Defense Reserve Fleet Vessels. U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx today announced that DOT has awarded contracts with a total award value of $1.96 billion over eight years to seven U.S. maritime firms to manage, maintain and operate 48 National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) vessels through January 2024.

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GCSE Science Revision - Electrolysis of a Melt

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Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

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Explore the dynamics of trade in natural resources, the sustainability implications of such trade, and the interdependencies between importers and exporters.

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Energiforbrug i forbindelse med produktion af Li-batterier?

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Energiforbrug i forbindelse med produktion af Li-batterier?

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Based on this source, the energy consumption could be range from 0.54 to
0.68 kWh/Ah according to our investigation.

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Hvordan udvindes ressourcen metalisk Li fra den oprindelige forekomst i saltlagen (LiCl LiCO3, Elektrolyse

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Hvordan udvindes ressourcen metalisk Li fra den oprindelige forekomst i saltlagen (LiCl LiCO3, Elektrolyse