[paker]

ReVolt Technology, a company based in Staefa, Switzerland, claims that its Zinc-air battery can "store three times the energy of lithium ion batteries, by volume, while costing only half as much".

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009...ctric-cars.php

[david85]

Heard about zinc air 10 years ago. They did some tests of the battery and proved it to have great energy and power density, but were unable to overcome the recharging part of the equation. The versions I saw were technically primary batteries. One version was "recharged" by pumping the active ingredients into and out of the fuel cell along with the electrolite.

Second and more powerful version from a different company relied on battery swapping and an elaborate plan to recycle dead batteries on a massive scale.

Both ideas died rather quickly as I recall. What I'm not seeing here is how exactly they plan to "recharge" the cells.

Earliest EV I know of that was powered by zinc air was the "electrovair" or electric corvair built by GM back in the 60s.

[Sunking]

Zinc Air are primary cells.

[Coulomb]

Originally Posted by Sunking

Zinc Air are primary cells.

Usually, yes. But they are talking in the article about increasing the current ~100 cycle life (I assume by electrical recharging, but maybe they mean via liquid) to 2000+.

As usual, the facts are a little lacking.

[PhantomPholly]

Almost sounds like their "solution" (pardon the pun) is a hybrid between a fuel cell and a battery, the only difference being that by reversing the process they can "recharge" both the electrolyte and the reactant substances.

Fuel Cells have been shown to hold the energy density we need, but the requirement to decant the spent liquid and replace with fresh plus the expense of replacing the Platinum catalyst were too problematic.

[_GonZo_]

I just started to work now on the development of Zinc-Air Batteries and Aluminium-Air Batteries.

Of course now it is dificult to say that they are going to be the future batteries for EV and other aplications, but they look really promising.
I suggest that you have a close look to them.

The can be recharged electricaly like other tipes of batteries.

And they can be charged mechanicaly, this is in my point of view the best option for EV it can be done in minutes. Just stop your car in a refuelling station and change the fuel (aluminium or zinc)

The good thing is that they can be around 500Wh/Kg or more, that is around 3 times better than good Li-ion batteries, and around 5 times better than LiFe batteries.

Another very good point of this batteries is that they can be in a almost in a perfect recicling process, this means that the battaries never die:
The Exausted fuel (oxide of Zinc or Aluminium) is converted back agin in fuel.
The electrolite is as well recicled agian and again.
And air catodes are recicled to make new catodes.
Very little material is discard after a battery overhaul: little harware, some impurities, may be some catalizators, and some water is lost during the discharging/charging proceses but it is been worked in order to minimizise this lost.

You casn find a big open soure of information about Zinc-Air batteries here: http://elbil.forum24.se/elbil-about844-100.html (very long reading)

I will try to post more detailed and interesting information about them in some weeks when I get more knoweledge about them. (As comented I just started with them...)

[order99]

So-I need to be sure i'm reading this right:

1) The Zinc-Air battery can be quick-charged by replacing the internal fluids within minutes, safely and easy?

2) The ZA battery can also be slow-charged through normal charging techniques?

If this is the case, where is the downside? Early adopters would be at no more a disadvantage charging than LA or LiPo, get better performance AND get to take advantage of possible Quick-charge infrastructures at a later date?

There must be a downside i'm not seeing...if my understanding is correct, then why were these batteries not adopted sooner?

[PhantomPholly]

The down side is that they only exist in laboratories.

As for how safe the fluids are or what the actual production energy density will be, it is all "vapour-ware" at this point.

[david85]

The electrolyte that the older ones I saw used was KOH (potassium hydroxide) which is a decently corrosive chemical. Lithium batteries have no liquid electrolyte in them.

Something else I should add, is there are lithium batteries out there that are being marketed in a limited capacity (with the help of exxon no less) with energy density of 400 WH/Kg, so its pretty close already. If we want to compare experimental against experimental, then there are lithium batteries that are "claimed" to be 600 WH/kg.

I agree with Phantom. There are too many vaporware batteries out there to believe any of these claims until I can buy one of these batteries and have it in my own hands. Claims alone of capability are not enough.

[_GonZo_]

Something else I should add, is there are lithium batteries out there that are being marketed in a limited capacity (with the help of exxon no less) with energy density of 400 WH/Kg, so its pretty close already. If we want to compare experimental against experimental, then there are lithium batteries that are "claimed" to be 600 WH/kg.

Hi David, were can I find info about those Lithium batteries?


About the Zinc or Alum Air cells I forgot to say a couple of things.

In theory they can be very cheap, but that is something to be seen...
As Phamton says they are only in laboratories for now. (but hope that will be in mine soon)
About safety they are very safe, I mean VERY SAFE, actually you can perforate them and they will not even start a fire or smoke, actually they will continue working (Obviously not perfectly).


Just to let you know, my work with them is going to be the development of manufacturing sistems for them, and optimization of the cells and manufacturing procces itself.
So I think I will be in a good position in order to let you know all how it goes and if they are as good as they say.