Battery charging time is one of the greatest challenges facing the electric vehicle industry. Because motorists are accustomed to ‘recharging’ their fuel tanks in minutes. They say they simply do not have hours to spend waiting for lithium batteries to top up. This resistance is likely to remain until we find a way to achieve instant battery charges.
The Professor of Earth, Atmospheric & Planetary Science (and Mathematics)
John Cushman of Purdue University, Indiana has invented a new kind of flow battery. Flow batteries are electro-chemical cells extracting energy from two different substances dissolved in liquids. A membrane separates these to control the flow of ions between them.
Flow batteries are quite common in load balancing and renewable energy storage applications. We also find them in electric vehicles. However, there was no question of instant battery charges until John Cushman made his debut.
Instant Battery Charges in a Membrane-Less Flow Battery
The professor is keeping the technical details close to his chest. However, we do know that membranes in flow batteries slow the flow of ions, and eventually clog. We don’t know how his membrane-less solution works in practice.
However, it should have a longer life. Moreover, the ions could move ‘at the speed of light”. John Cushman assured media representatives the recharge would be instantaneous. If commercially proven, this would thus reduce the size of recharging stations. And furthermore encourage more motorists to turn to green energy as a lasting solution.
In fact, they would not have to charge their batteries at all, in the conventional sense. at least. They would simply exchange their old for new electrolyte.
How the Electrolyte Could Potentially Recycle Endlessly
John Cushman is looking for an angel investor for his ‘IfBattery” idea, as he calls it. If successful, he envisages bulking the spent electrolyte and sending it to solar farms, wind turbine installations, and hydroelectric plants for converting to energy-rich electrolyte. Is our favorite daydream coming true? Shall we then see instant battery charges soon?
Related
Flow Battery Made Out of Water …
A Brief History of Electric Vehicles
Preview Image: Professor Cushman
Video Share Link: https://youtu.be/yNZkbt928oA
