Battery Technologies and its future prospects

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CHEM-CONFLUX20 Special Issue
J. Indian Chem. Soc.
Vol. 97, October(A) 2020
Battery technologies and its future prospects
Shashi Kalaa, A.Mishrab*, Vishesh Shuklab
aDepartment of Energy Advisory, Mott MacDonald Pvt Ltd, Noida 201301, India
bDepartment of Applied Mechanics, Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology Allahabad,
Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, 211004, India
*ashustoshjssate@gmail.com
Manuscript Received online 7/16/2020, Accepted 10/30/2020
______________________________________________________________________________
In today’s world, machines and a plethora of electronic devices surround humans. The growing market
of electronic and electrical devices and thrust to sustainable developments is a driving force for the
development of batteries as energy storage media, which are extensively used to power small gadgets
to big cities. Many types of battery technologies are currently in use and each has their own advantages
and disadvantages. The present review work aimed to discuss and compare the various battery
technologies and its associated financial/ technological challenges. Additionally, various battery
technologies are also discussed covering various aspects of the materials for future batteries to provide
a research direction in the rapidly emerging field of energy storage systems.
Keywords: battery technologies, lithium-ion battery, safety issues, energy storage
_______________________________________________________________________________
Introduction
In today’s world, machines surround
humans and there is a plethora of electronic
devices to make life easier and comfortable.
Recent advancement in technology is visible in
the form of smart phones, tablets, smart
homes, smart automobiles etc. These
advancements are an indication that world is
now entering into a new era of digitalization
and automation considering the requirements
of sustainable development. An important
aspect of sustainable development is the use
of emission-free energy. Under the Paris
Agreement1, major countries have pledged to
limit the global average temperature rise below
2 °C. In this regard, International Energy
Agency (IEA) has estimated that at least 20%
of road vehicles should run on alternative
energy by 20301. Renewable power capacity is
set to expand by 50% between 2019 and 2024,
led by Solar Photo Voltaic (PV) system3.
Renewable energy sources rely on the energy
storage system and research activities in the
field of a battery is increasing with the shift in
the current energy scenario. A battery is a
device with one or more electrochemical cells
which coverts chemical energy to electrical
energy. Various combinations of one or more
electrochemical cells are shown in Fig 1.
Fig. 1. Arrangements of cells as storage
device
Batteries are very common and are
present everywhere around us but there are
certain concerns like safety, commercial
viability, cost-effectiveness, sustainable battery
materials, charging/discharging rate that has
affected the growth and popularity of batteries

as energy sources4. These concerns have
affected the advancement in battery
technologies in comparison to the development
in electronic devices. The present work
reviews the battery technologies with reference
to the parameters like energy density, energy
efficiency, materials, cost, safety and other
desired parameters for sustainability and
reusability. Further, the paper discusses the
challenges in the existing technologies and the
future prospects in terms of new materials
choices along with alternative battery
technologies having scope of replacing Lithium
ion battery (LIB) technologies.
History of battery technologies
The earliest battery technology dates
back 2000 years when Parthians used to
generate 1 to 2 volt of electricity by a galvanic
cell made up of clay and iron rod surrounded
by copper tube filled with vinegar solution [5].
In 1800 AD, according to Alessandro Volta,
who discovered an early battery of modern
times, certain fluids generate continuous flow
of electric power when used as conductor.
Other important shifts in the development of
batteries are listed in Table-1. Initially, the
batteries were developed by using widely
available and popular anode and cathode
materials.
Table.1 Major Shift in battery technologies.
Year
Technology
1836 AD
A primary cell (Daniel Cell) was developed.
1860 AD
A secondary cell (Lead acid battery) was developed [6].
1866 AD
An improved primary cell (Leclanche cell) was developed.
1886 AD
First dry cell (a variant of Leclanche cell) using Zinc Carbon Cell.
1991 AD
John B. Goodenough developed Lithium ion battery (LIB).
However, with the technological
advancement in chemistry and material
science, the battery technology evolved
progressively with the new choice of materials.
Existing battery technologies
Development of energy from renewable
sources and battery as energy storage for the
power supply in the city power systems is a
new sustainable solution for energy crisis,
energy output fluctuations, and power
unpredictability7. Battery as electrical energy
storage (EES) system is widely used in
electrical grid for load leveling applications to
store the energy and supplies it during energy
shortage/increased energy demand as shown
in Fig 2a8. Available battery technologies can
broadly be categorized into three groups as
shown in Table 2. Among the several battery
technologies available since many years, Fig.
2b shows the usage of LIB, which is 88% [9-
10] until 2016. Fig 2 b also illustrates the
changing trend of groups (a) and (b) of battery
technologies and highlights how LIB is
replacing most of the battery technologies
along with its increasing applicability, which
must be due to its lightweight, and highest
oxidation potential. While LIB technologies
have been matured, there are significant
possibilities in the growth of group (c) battery
technologies. This is due to the advancement
in the field of nanomaterial synthesis such as
synthesis of graphenes and MXenes.
According to the recent analysis by Mckinesy11
in 2018, lithium, cobalt, and nickel for batteries
had estimated global value of ~$5 billion,

where the share of cobalt was ~60%, lithium
was ~30% and highly pure nickel for batteries
was~10 %. Further, the performance
degradation of lithium ion batteries is due to
loss of power or reduced discharge power at
low temperature or because of overuse and
aging.
a b
Fig. 2 (a) Schematic plot of load levelling applications of EES system (b) Percentage mix of battery
Technology10
Table 2. Broad classification of battery technologies
Classifications
Types
Battery Examples
Group (a)
Primary Cells
Carbon /Zinc
Li/SOCl2
Secondary Cells
NiCd
LIB
Group (b)
Flow battery
ZnBr
ZnCl
Dry Cell
NiMH
NiCd
Alkaline battery
Zn/MNO2
BaSO4-Zn/MNO2
Group (c)
Pure Metals
Carbon /Zinc
NiMH
Compounds/
Composites
LIB
Li15Si4
Nanomateials
Ti3C2TX (MXene)
Ti3CNTX(MXene)
This presents the need of searching for other
optional material candidates13. Also, in view of
future metal security and limited availability of
lithium metal, other metallic compositions such
as Nickel Metal Hydride battery (NiMH),
Lithium-ion polymers, Reusable alkaline
batteries are changing the battery market
dynamics rapidly. Growing demand of
rechargeable batteries is the cause of growing
research for alternative materials. In Table 3,
for rechargeable battery technologies, financial
and technological comparison establishes the
reason for the market dynamics. This may be
due to the cost incurred and the material
availability constraints. Since lithium is
comparatively rare, although lithium based
batteries are advantageous, there is a
significant thrust to shift to some new
materials.
Financial and technological challenges in
battery technologies
The global battery market is expected to
grow from USD 14.08 billion in 2016 to USD
17.25 billion by 2021 at a Compound annual
growth rate (CAGR) of 4.15%14. The market of
battery is expected to grow rapidly to become
the largest market in Asia Pacific (APAC).
Therefore, it becomes important to identify the

financial and technological challenges battery
technologies are facing for its growth. The
major financial challenges are shown in Fig. 3.
The research and developments in battery
technologies nowadays significantly focuses
sustainability and commercial viability. In this
regard, although, the performance of nickel-
based batteries in terms of gravimetric and
volumetric energy density is less as compared
to
Table 3. Financial and technological comparison of battery technologies12
Comparative
parameter
NiCd
NiMH
Lead
Acid
Li-ion
Li-ion
polymer
Reusable
Alkaline
Technological parameters
Gravimetric Energy
Density(Wh/kg)
45-80
60-120
30-50
110-
160
100-130
80 (initial)
Internal Resistance in
m Ω
100 to
2001
200 to
3001
<1001
150 to
2501
200 to
3001
200 to
20001
Fast Charge Time
1hr
typical
2-4hr
8-16hr
2-4hr
2-4hr
2-3hr
Overcharge
Tolerance
moderate
low
high
very
low
low
moderate
Self-discharge /
Month (room
temperature)
20%4
30%4
5%
10%5
~10%5
0.30%
Cell Voltage(nominal)
1.25V6
1.25V6
2V
3.6V
3.6V
1.5V
Maintenance
Requirement
30 to
60 days
60 to
90 days
3 to 6
months
not
req.
not req.
not req.
Financial Parameters
Typical Battery Cost
(US$)
$50
(7.2V)
$60
(7.2V)
$25
(6V)
$100
(7.2V)
$100
(7.2V)
$5
(9V)
Cost per Cycle(US$)
$0.04
$0.12
$0.10
$0.14
$0.29
$0.10-0.50
Commercial use since
1950
1990
1970
(sealed)
1991
1999
1992

Fig 3. Major financial challenges in the growth of new battery technologies
.
Fig 4. Comparison of the different battery technologies in terms of volumetric and gravimetric energy
density17
LIB (Fig 4), there is a need to bring
improvements in the specific energy of Nickel
based (NiMH) or other battery technologies as
lithium supply will run out on long-term basis
and it is toxic15. Redox flow batteries and
Advanced Redox flow batteries for large-scale
storage (10 kW- 10 MW) applications are
common candidates having most of the
desired benefits16. Further, Aqueous Lithium
Flow Battery is also a good option for
stationary application and recently sulphur and
manganese flow batteries are also researched
by leading research universities to decrease
the burden on lithium. Finding out the optimum
solution to self-discharge problem and less
specific energy density of NiCd and NiMH
battery is one of the major chanllenge in the
commercial comeback of these technologies18-
19. However, usage of LaNi5-type electrodes
brings out higher hydrogen mass capacity,

increased safety of NiMH batteries and
reduced cost. This has become a important
reason for growing demand of NiMH batteries
for hybrid electrical vehicles (HEV). Other
technological challenges in the growth of the
batteries are issues related to (a) Recycling,
toxicity, overheating, explosion (b) Limited
skilled battery system operating personals (c)
Insufficient accreditation and trained designers
and installers (d) Disposal and recycling
guidelines, (e) Emergency response systems.
Out of these problems, safety concerns and
design standards requirement has become
bigger hurdle for the approval by designated
agencies and acceptability for the new
technologies. For safety assessment industry
standards, such as those set by the
International Society of Automotive Engineers
(SAE), International Organization for
Standardization (ISO) etc., should be followed
by battery manufacturers. In order to ensure
mechanical safety, tests such as mechanical
shock, drop test, penetration test, crush test,
rollover and vibration test should be conducted
at cell, battery, module and pack level. Another
major concern is environmental issue i.e.
carbon footprint of battery manufacturing and
recycling units. There are environmental
benefits of Vanadium redox flow batteries,
which lie in the high recyclability of vanadium
that outweigh the negative impact of their
production cost and low energy density. Their
simple and flexible design makes it easier to
recycle up to 10-20 times. Research is going
on to raise redox flow batteries to its full
potential through cost and size reduction with
high energy density20.
Future prospects in the development of
battery technologies
The future of the battery technologies
is largely dependent on the following points for
wide market acceptability and growth keeping
safety standards as prime criteria:
(i)Accelerated battery material discovery &
interface engineering: The material related
issues such as self discharge, exfoliation, loss
of porosity, cracks, structural changes etc
should be considered while developing new
materials. (ii) Smart sensing & self-healing
functionalities: Self healing polymer coats can
be used to repair cracks developed due to
electrochemical reactions. (iii) Cell design &
manufacturability: Design of cell should be
done using best practices to ensure the ease
of manufacturing with efficient functionality and
safety. (iv) Flame retarding property: Mixing of
flame suppressing agents (fluorinated
compounds) will pave the way for batteries
with enhanced safety of batteries21. (v)
Recyclability: Lead acid battery is matured
enough and technology of recycling to lead
acid battery is simple. As of now, 50% of lead
supply comes from recycled lead acid
batteries. The toxicity of lithium pose difficulty
for its recycling compared to semi-toxic nickel.
Therefore, the studies related to recyclability of
battery materials for nickel based and other
advanced polymer or composite based
batteries should be promoted.
Conclusions
The present work discussed the
various existing battery technologies and their
constraints. There is a limited availability of
lithium so the other optional materials for
energy storage applications are required to be
researched focusing recycling and safety
issues. Growing demand for secondary cells
for grid and automotive applications is
redirecting the researchers’ attention towards
developing nickel based, lithium polymer and
reusable alkaline-based batteries once again.
Development of batteries that are suitable for

automotive applications, which require rapid
charging, high specific energy ensuring its
safety for static as well as dynamic
applications is another dimension to work on.
It is also inferred from the present work that
there will be a huge demand of number of
testing facilities to perform safety test from cell
level to battery pack level, which will
significantly govern the battery market
dynamics in future.
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