Super Environmentally Friendly: The "Fool's Gold Battery"
Friday, November 13, 2015 - 09:50
in Physics & Chemistry
High-performance lithium ion batteries face a major problem: Lithium will eventually start to run out as batteries are deployed in electric cars and stationary storage units. Researchers from Empa and ETH Zurich have now discovered an alternative: the "fool's gold battery". It consists of iron, sulfur, sodium and magnesium - all elements that are in plentiful supply. This means that giant storage batteries could be built on the cheap and used stationary in buildings or next to power plants, for instance.