SMART ENERGY
ALUMINIUM
– cheaper than lithium and more readily available The world ’ s most abundant metal , if there ’ s one thing the energy storage industry can be sure of , it ’ s that aluminium-based batteries are unlikely to be scarce . Like zinc-ion , aluminium is a low flammability element with a high energy density and therefore storage capability . Brisbanebased firm Graphene Manufacturing Group ( GMG ) claims that graphene aluminium-ion battery cells can charge up to 60 times faster than the lithiumion equivalent and can store three times the energy of other aluminium batteries . The company says it is planning to bring automotive pouch cells of graphene aluminium-ion to the EV battery market in 2024 , providing a potential solution to lithium as a material and the future of energy storage .
Aluminium is also cheaper than lithium . According to the Energy Storage Report , in 2022 , prices of lithium carbonate hit US $ 76,700 per tonne . By contrast , aluminium cost US $ 3,000 per tonne in the same year .
But there are doubts over aluminium ’ s credibility . Usage of the metal in batteries is , at the time of writing , only in the early stages of development , so it ’ s as yet unproven . In addition , it has been reported that some scientists believe that aluminium is an ‘ unrealistic proposition ’ since it corrodes when formed as part of an aqueous ( waterbased ) battery . energydigital . com 43