Researchers at ICMAB-CSIC near Barcelona aim to build a prototype battery that uses periodic neighbour calcium instead of lithium. Lithium mining is expensive, and the metal is dangerous to handle, making processing and recycling difficult.
Europe will need up to 60 times more lithium by 2050 to fulfil demand for electric car batteries and renewable energy storage that will form the backbone of reaching emissions goals laid out in the European Green Deal.
Researchers modelled different salts and solvents to find an electrolyte that would create a passivation layer on the calcium electrode which makes it easier for ions to transfer.
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