The team of researchers aims to develop new generation electrochemical storage systems characterized by low production costs and increasingly higher standards of efficiency, sustainability and safety, paving the way for one new industrial supply chain along the entire value cycle, from the production of raw materials to the recycling of spent components at the end of their life.
“Calcium-ion technology is still in the early stages of development and the aim is to contribute to a better understanding of how it works even if, in principle, the underlying electrochemical processes are analogous to those of lithium batteries -ion where, however, calcium replaces lithium in the role of space shuttle, i.e. the carrier of the electric charge”, explains Laura Silvestri, researcher at the Energy Storage, Batteries and Technologies for the Production and Use of Hydrogen Laboratory of the Energy Technologies and Renewable Sources Department of ENEA.
The project moves into almost unexplored areas, but the key advantages are already clear: the use of calcium is a promising option for improving the energy densities of batteries while reducing production costs thanks to Bass cost of the raw material and, above all, to its own abundance in the earth's crust. “Through the development of electrochemical calcium-ion storage technologies it will be possible to resolve the main critical issues related to supply, safety and production costs. Not only that: we will have an eco-sustainable alternative to lithium-ion systems, a mature storage technology that has almost reached the theoretical limit of its performance", adds Silvestri.
Project Methodology
ACTEA adopts a design methodology that focuses on the development of processes and materials with a reduced environmental impact and on the use of very common elements such as iron, silicon or titanium (in addition to calcium), through minimizing the use of toxic and critical raw materials such as, for example, cobalt and lithium. “This strategy could decline significantly innovative and sustainable the scenario of a transition from a technological paradigm with a high environmental impact (lithium-ion batteries) to a newer one green (calcium-ion batteries). Furthermore, the introduction of calcium and related materials into the battery value chain would open a new market for all producers of traditional raw materials", concludes Giulia Monteleone, head of the ENEA Division of Energy Production, Storage and Use of the Energy Technologies and Renewable Sources Department of ENEA.
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