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The 10 Chemical Innovations with the Highest Sustainability Potential
Problem: Powerful power storage systems are needed to drive the energy revolution forward. This is the only way to efficiently implement electric mobility and decentralized power supply. Lithium-ion batteries are currently the standard. But they are heavy and run the risk of leaking environmentally harmful and combustible electrolyte fluid in the event of an accident.
Goal: Back in the 19th century, Michael Faraday proposed a concept for a battery that consisted entirely of solid matter and no longer needed a liquid electrolyte.
Solution: Today, the first advances have already been made in the field of solid batteries. For example, models with glass electrolyte were presented by John Goodenough, one of the co-developers of the lithium-ion batteries widely used today. Polymer-based batteries have also made it into production. The new battery systems are still very expensive and there is currently no economic competition to the established solutions. In the long term, however, they already score points because they are lighter than lithium-ion batteries, have a higher storage density and perform well even at high temperatures. However, several years of research will still be required for most applications. (Picture: Picture: Pixabay/rawpixel)