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Aquion - Cobalt-Free Lithium-Ion Battery
Availability has always been an issue with cobalt-free lithium-ion batteries. However, it wouldn’t hurt to have further knowledge about it. Cobalt-free lithium-ion batteries function similarly to lithium-ion batteries but eliminate the expensive cobalt. The trick with these batteries is figuring out alloys and elemental combinations that offer similar or better performance. Nickle and magnesium have been used to create batteries with similar performance and good ion distribution to cobalt batteries, but experimentation is ongoing.
When Can We Expect It?
Cobalt-free batteries are already available, but the supply is limited, and there need to be some changes in nickel availability before this future battery technology will be able to replace traditional lithium-ion batteries. However, Tesla and other companies are starting the push for changes in the mining industry to better support cobalt-free lithium-ion battery manufacturing and research. This kind of battery is getting better quickly, so you should be sure to keep an eye on the latest battery technology news for new innovations.
Eliminating the cobalt in lithium-ion batteries eliminates the single most costly element included in the batteries, making them much more cost-effective. Cobalt is also the rarest element routinely included in batteries, and eliminating the cobalt makes the batteries much more sustainable.
Since cobalt is toxic, eliminating the cobalt in a battery makes them potentially less toxic if and when they break. Cobalt also has some human rights issues, which means that eliminating it from battery manufacturing could help address those problems as well.