Prof. Jian Chen’s group (Advanced Secondary Batteries Laboratory) recently made important achievements in Li-S battery R&D. They developed high-performance S/C composite nano-materials, cathodes with high sulfur loading, and technologies for large-capacity Li-S batteries. The batteries were tested by Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the results indicate that the single battery with rated capacity of 30 Ah exhibits an energy density of 520 Wh/kg. This is also the Li-S battery with the highest values of capacity and specific energy density reported worldwide. Meanwhile, significant progress has also been made in Li-S battery pack technology. The developed 1 kWh Li-S battery pack tested by the third party has an energy density of 330Wh/kg.
New Achievements in Li-S Batteries R&D at Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (Photo by LIU Yingjia)
Li-S battery receives wide attentions due to its high theoretical energy density of 2600Wh/kg (calculated based on the active materials). Although much effort has been made for its improvements, data on the large-scale Li-S batteries are still rarely reported. The rechargeable batteries with higher energy density are urgent for electric vehicles, scale energy storage, aerospace industry, robotics, etc. The specific energy density of the Li-S batteries can reach 3-4 times of those in the commercial Li-ion batteries with further developments on the key materials and manufacture technologies. The achievements in Prof. Chen’s group demonstrate the promising perspective of Li-S batteries as the next-generation energy storage system. However, the challenges in cycle life, power density and safety issue need to be addressed before the practical application of Li-S batteries.
The work reported here is supported by the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the National High-tech R&D Program (863 Program).
(Text & Photo by LIU Yingjia)
Contact: Prof. CHEN Jian
Email: chenjian@dicp.ac.cn