Japan makes lithium-ion batteries do not need rare earth

Japanese scientists have successfully built lithium-ion batteries without the use of rare earth metals.

On Oct. 17, a team of researchers from the University of Osaka, Yasushi Morita, has used trioxotriangulene , an organic material extracted from petroleum, to replace cobalt. which is a rare earth metal.

The researchers say that these new batteries have about twice as much charged power as current batteries. The power generation of this battery will decrease by about 30% after using more than 100 times. However, the method of producing this new type of battery is less expensive and the new generation battery is lighter than the current battery.

Associate Professor Morita says successful production of the new lithium-ion battery could pave the way for making lighter devices such as cell phones with longer battery life. He also hopes that the new method will be used in the production of batteries for cars.

So far, to produce lithium-ion batteries used in computers and mobile phones, one must use cobalt, a rare earth metal that is only produced in some countries around the world and is priced Both volatility is relatively strong.

The success of the study could help reduce the dependence of high technology on rare earth resources.