To good to be true? Dual Carbon based battery that outperforms Lithium Batteries

[DucatiMonster696]

I read about this about 2-3 weak ago but would like to read others opinions on the matter.

A materials engineering company in Japan called Power Japan Plus has made the claim that they have developed a dual carbon based battery that vastly outperforms even the best lithium batteries on the market today in terms of:

storage capacity
recharge rates
recharge cycles
safety (can be safely discharged and require no special cooling to operate)
weight (since they use no metal anodes)

They also claim these batteries are very much cost competitive, and safer for the environment then traditional lithium batteries.

Furthermore they claim that they will in the next year start a full test production run of these batteries to be sold to speciality markets such as medical device manufacturers and salette engineering firms, etc. They also plan to license their battery technology to anyone else who would like to produce these types of batteries for large volume markets such as automakers.

Anyways the link to their website is down below. Check it out tel me what you think? Does this sound to good to be true or is it a new and much needed battery technology breakthrough that will change the market for electrical devices and vehicles?

http://powerjapanplus.com/

 

[Paul98]

Yeah I saw that, it certainly sounds great. I try to keep up with new battery technology, as it's what is really going to change things in the near future. You see new and great sounding battery ideas and tests every month, most of which don't come true. This one I have more hope for simply due to the people who are behind it. These are people who have done a lot in the industry already. So I have hope that we could see this in the future. But really who know's what sort of problems they will run into when trying to go into production. We are just going to have to wait and see what sort of progress they make, or if it just falls away like so many.

 

[Vic]

Looks like it's still a lithium battery but uses carbon cathodes/anodes.

 

[shira]

Looks like it's still a lithium battery but uses carbon cathodes/anodes.

Yes. And that being the case, I don't see why this design would lead to higher storage capacity or to significantly lower weight.

 

[ElFenix]

Yes. And that being the case, I don't see why this design would lead to higher storage capacity or to significantly lower weight.

looks like the cathode and the anode make up more than 50% of the weight of a typical battery, though the anode is mostly graphite anyway. the cathode is easily the heaviest part of the battery, at over 40% by itself.

http://www.transportation.anl.gov/pdfs/TA/149.pdf

 

[zephyrprime]

How the heck can you make the anode and cathode the same material? There would be no potential difference between the two materials! Even if they used different forms of carbon, I doubt there would be a big difference in potential.

 

[desy]

Where does it say Lithium
It says no rare earth metals of which I thought Lithium was counted
Its lighter not because of materials but because of energy density proportionate to similar capacities of other materials

 

[Bowfinger]

Where does it say Lithium
It says no rare earth metals of which I thought Lithium was counted
Its lighter not because of materials but because of energy density proportionate to similar capacities of other materials

Lithium is not a rare earth metal, not close to the rare earths at all.

 

[SurelyYouJest]

They say it doesn't contain lithium

"This high performance battery makes use of a completely unique chemistry, with both the anode and the cathode made of simple carbon. It also contains no metals, rare earth metals and no heavy metals, which is part of what makes it both cost competitive and sustainable."

http://powerjapanplus.com/battery/


Lithium (from Greek: λίθος lithos, "stone") is a chemical element with symbol Li and atomic number 3. It is a soft, silver-white metal belonging to the alkali metal group of chemical elements.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium

 

[desy]

http://www.avalonraremetals.com/projects/target_commodities/rare_metals/lithium/

According to the Handbook of Lithium and Natural Calcium, "Lithium is a comparatively rare element, although it is found in many rocks and some brines, but always in very low concentrations. There are a fairly large number of both lithium mineral and brine deposits but only comparatively few of them are of actual or potential commercial value. Many are very small, others are too low in grade."[44]

http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/availability_of_lithium

OK not a REE but certainly not plentiful and as pointed out above they say it doesn't contain lithium as many have posted which is what I was mostly pointing out.
That the chemistry is fully recyclable and available.

 

[OverVolt]

There was a battery that used silicone or something as one of the anodes except it practically disintegrated after a few recharge cycles they were "going to fix that problem in a few years."

There are tons of experimental batteries that perform better than ones on the market today they just aren't really practical for commercial purposes.

 

[SurelyYouJest]

I guess I should read the whole page. Further down it says:

"Positively charged lithium ions flow to the anode and the negatively charged anions flow to the cathode."

How can it have lithium ions if it contains no metal?

 

[desy]

"Economic concentrations of lithium occur in salts from surface and subsurface brines,"

So maybe its the lithium salts form and not the processed metal as the 'fluid chemistry' hasn't been disclosed as to its composition

 

[Thebobo]

Company seems to be brand new?

 

[Matt1970]

Company seems to be brand new?

And let me guess. They will need a large investment to get the battery to market.

 

[DominionSeraph]

How the heck can you make the anode and cathode the same material? There would be no potential difference between the two materials! Even if they used different forms of carbon, I doubt there would be a big difference in potential.

http://www.electrochem.org/dl/ma/198/pdfs/0100.pdf

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

I'll believe it when I see it for sale.