As energy density increases, more energy can be extracted from a battery pack of the same weight. “Battery energy densities keep getting better,” Colin McKerracher, Head of Advanced Transport at BloombergNEF, said. “They’ve almost tripled at the cell level since 2010.”
During the past decade, lithium-ion batteries improved significantly in terms of volumetric energy density, which describes the amount of energy that can be contained within a given volume. The higher the volumetric energy density is, the smaller the battery pack can be (assuming the same energy content).
In order to achieve high energy density batteries, researchers have tried to develop electrode materials with higher energy density or modify existing electrode materials, improve the design of lithium batteries and develop new electrochemical energy systems, such as lithium air, lithium sulfur batteries, etc.
Furthermore, the development of high energy density lithium batteries can improve the balanced supply of intermittent, fluctuating, and uncertain renewable clean energy such as tidal energy, solar energy, and wind energy.
A paid subscription is required for full access. Lithium-ion batteries accounted for the largest volumetric energy density among energy storage devices. Energy density is a measure of the amount of energy that a battery can contain in comparison to its volume.
This is the calculation formula of energy density of lithium secondary batteries: Energy density (Wh kg −1) = Q × V M. Where M is the total mass of the battery, V is the working voltage of the positive electrode material, and Q is the capacity of the battery.