For a third of the cost
Arizona State University's spin off outfit Fluidic Energy plans to build a new battery
with an energy density 11 times greater than that of lithium-ion batteries for
just one-third the cost.
Fluidic Energy uses
ionic liquids as its electrolyte, which could help it overcome some
significant problems faced by previous metal-air batteries. Currently metal-air batteries have usually used
water-based electrolytes, but due to water evaporation, the batteries tended to
fail prematurely.
But ionic liquids don't evaporate and are much more
viscous, and conduct electricity better. Fluidic Energy has not yet discussed the specific ionic
liquids his company has been investigating.
According to press release the outfit hopes to achieve
energy densities of anywhere from 900 to 1,600 watt-hours per kilogram. This
density could lead to electric vehicles that could travel 400 to 500 miles on a
single charge and laptops that last for
days.