Energy density by volume refers to the amount of energy we can store in a given space. This factor is becoming increasingly important in electric aircraft, where batteries may occupy half the fuselage. Today we explore how packing cells closer together improves overall density by volume. This aspect also matters in electric cars, because lowering the roof line increases driving range.
How Packing Cells Closer Together Makes a Difference
We came across this topic while scrolling through a Tech Crunch article on April 3, 2024. We already knew that individual lithium-ion battery cells are streets ahead of other options, in term of individual energy density by volume. Although we had not previously focused on the losses when these pack together.
Lithium-ion technology has been somewhat on the back foot because of apparently random, sporadic overheating incidents. However, industry leaders have countered by allowing extra space for enhanced cooling systems that increase battery size.
But this additional space comes at the cost of overall battery density by volume, improving the competitiveness of other options. A United States start-up, Alsym Energy, is taking this gap according to the Tech Crunch article we referred to earlier.
Could Their Metal-Oxide Battery Technology Do The Trick?
The start-up company is understandably coy about the details behind their more space-efficient metal-oxide battery. Although we do understand that one of the electrodes uses manganese-dioxide, while the electrolyte is water-based, and hence non-flammable.
The result, the manufacturer says, is a close-packed battery that competes with lithium-ion energy density per unit of space. The need for less safety equipment could therefore make it a suitable application for safer grid-scale energy storage too.
We wrote this article not to promote Alsym, but because of the promise their cells may hold for safer battery farms near inhabited areas. We append two recent posts illustrating how recent community concerns over battery fires, are impeding the roll-out of grid-scale renewable energy.
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