HYDERABAD: Researchers at the IIT Hyderabad have developed a new battery that they claim will work as efficiently as the currently used lithium-ion batteries but will be environment-friendly and cheaper. The new battery — dual carbon battery — can cut the overall battery cost by as much as 20 to 25 percent, points out Dr Surendra Kumar Martha of the Department of Chemistry at IIT-H.
Dr Martha, who led the team of researchers, speaking on the efficiency of dual carbon battery, said its energy density is presently around 100-watt hour per kilogram and can be pushed to 150 W-h/kg with further modifications, close to that of currently used lithium-ion batteries. Energy density gives information on how much energy a battery contains in proportion to its weight.
Dr Martha said that further research will be conducted to increase energy density of the dual carbon battery, so that it can be introduced as a cheaper alternative to lithium-ion battery. The IIT-H research team believes the new battery may find use in high voltage applications, sophisticated battery-run medical devices, in electric vehicles and stationary grids.
Lithium-ion batteries are made from toxic heavy metals like cobalt, nickel, manganese, etc that are costly, need to be mined from Earth, cause environmental harm and are sometimes associated with unethical practices like child labour. Also, availability of these metals depends on international geopolitics, causing frequent fluctuation in their costs whereas usage of dual carbon battery will help bring market price stability, pointed out a press release on the innovation by IIT Hyderabad. However, the dual carbon battery uses carbon, which is easily available and is not dangerous like the heavy metals. It uses carbon filter mats, which act as both electrodes -- cathode and anode.