AÑO
2021
CATEGORÍA
Hogar
OBJETIVOS
Energía asequible y no contaminante
PAL. CLAVE
Batteries, sustainable energy, portable energy, Energy Efficiency
PAÍS
United States of America
CRÉDITOS
IBM
LINK
https://www.ibm.com/blogs/research/2019/12/heavy-metal-free-battery/
IBM's sustainable battery
Seawater-batteries free from cobalt, nickel and other heavy metals
As battery-powered alternatives for everything from vehicles to smart energy grids are explored, there remain significant concerns around the sustainability of available battery technologies.
Many battery materials, including heavy metals such as nickel and cobalt, pose tremendous environmental and humanitarian risks. Cobalt in particular, which is largely available in central Africa, has come under fire for careless and exploitative extraction practices.
Using three new and different proprietary materials, which have never before been recorded as being combined in a battery, our team at IBM Research has discovered a chemistry for a new battery which does not use heavy metals or other substances with sourcing concerns.
The materials for this battery are able to be extracted from seawater, laying the groundwork for less invasive sourcing techniques than current material mining methods.