Are Lithium-Ion Batteries Obsolete Already?

This isn’t a product review.

I’m not going to tell you the specs of my phone and how much I like it or hate it, or even whether the company that made it is worth investing in or not.

What I will say is that it’s been plugged into the wall for the last 20 minutes and may need to stay there a while longer.

Plenty of readers like you have been in this kind of situation…

You’ve charged your phone all night, taken it to work with you, used a few apps and called a few people, and then by early afternoon the little battery symbol in the corner is red again.

Don’t get me wrong; lithium-ion batteries are an amazing technology with an incredible investment horizon.

Yet can you imagine having to get a whole new battery every time your phone discharged?

How many AAs can one person carry on a daily basis anyway?

Make no mistake, dear reader — THAT technology is still far from optimum.

Even the longest-lasting lithium-ion batteries eventually lose some of their power and begin to discharge faster.

And yet designs are improving all the time.

I know you can see that this kind of opportunity is ripe for the picking.

Earlier in the year, we talked about Tesla’s experimental use of more silicon in the battery anodes to increase the battery’s capacity. The company even brought on a battery expert to head the project.

There are also the more far-fetched innovations, such as the flexible battery that can be shot with a bullet and still function or the transparent battery that can act as both a power source and a phone screen.

Today, however, I want to talk about a whole different battery design that could increase a lithium battery’s capacity so much that your phone would stay charged for not hours but days at a time!

This new battery design could also potentially raise the driving range of electric vehicles, inevitably surpassing that of fossil fuel cars.

Of course, it goes without saying that this technology will also reduce the cost of these products, making not only every rechargeable device more affordable, but also every electric vehicle on the global market!

Do you think the market is ready for this kind of technology? Are you?

Putting on Airs

This new battery technology is called lithium-air (as opposed to lithium-ion).

And the difference between the two lies in the chemistry.

Now, you may be aware of the fact that traditional lithium-ion batteries are made of two electrodes: one graphite and one metal oxide, with dissolved lithium salt in the middle to carry lithium atoms between the two as the battery charges and discharges.

The lithium-air design, however, uses porous graphene in place of the metal oxide, which is often carbon.

This effectively changes the chemical reactions, as the lithium salts now react with oxygen instead of the metal oxide — giving the air battery an energy density that is 10 times the size of ion batteries!

And THAT is the power that will keep your phone alive and your EV running longer than ever before.

However, there is a catch or two.

First, the actual charging and discharging of this kind of battery is not very efficient yet. The chemical reactions still produce lithium crystals, which can clog the pores of the graphene and reduce the amount of energy that can actually be stored and discharged over time.

The biggest problem, though, is the oxygen in the battery. The proper reactions only occur when there is pure oxygen for the lithium to react with — not an ideal design for practical use. No matter how clean you think your air is, it is nowhere near pure oxygen.

Scientists at the University of Cambridge estimate that this revolutionary technology is still about 10 years away from being commercially viable; there is still a lot of work to be done.

But really, what useful, profitable technology isn’t always working to better itself?

A Solid Prediction

For all the things we can’t possibly predict about the future of energy storage, there is one point no one can deny: We are going to need a lot of lithium supply.

Elon Musk, the man at the wheel of this revolution, has stated that the Tesla Gigafactory in Nevada is going to start production in waves. That means despite the factory not being completely finished, actual battery production will be ramping up soon.

In fact, an assembly line has already been installed and is producing Tesla’s home and business Powerwall and Powerpack systems right from the factory; wave one is already complete!

What’s more, both Panasonic and LG Chem have plans for their own Gigafactories, and only one of those factories will be Tesla-owned.

It’s worth noting that both of those are major global battery companies, and both now have battery supply deals with Tesla.

Three companies are dominating the lithium battery market; there’s not even another company to compare them to.

Luckily for investors, there’s no such oligopoly on lithium supply.

Not anymore, that is.

It’s well known that just three massive companies control an overwhelming share of the lithium market.

Yet the sudden boom in demand for this Metal Oil is opening the doors to smaller, domestic lithium companies vying for business with Tesla and its associates.

And whether that lithium is being used with ions or with air, there’s no question that lithium demand will continue its uptrend over the next several decades.

Until next time,

Keith Kohl

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A true insider in the technology and energy markets, Keith’s research has helped everyday investors capitalize from the rapid adoption of new technology trends and energy transitions. Keith connects with hundreds of thousands of readers as the Managing Editor of Energy & Capital, as well as the investment director of Angel Publishing’s Energy Investor and Technology and Opportunity.

For nearly two decades, Keith has been providing in-depth coverage of the hottest investment trends before they go mainstream — from the shale oil and gas boom in the United States to the red-hot EV revolution currently underway. Keith and his readers have banked hundreds of winning trades on the 5G rollout and on key advancements in robotics and AI technology.

Keith’s keen trading acumen and investment research also extend all the way into the complex biotech sector, where he and his readers take advantage of the newest and most groundbreaking medical therapies being developed by nearly 1,000 biotech companies. His network includes hundreds of experts, from M.D.s and Ph.D.s to lab scientists grinding out the latest medical technology and treatments. You can join his vast investment community and target the most profitable biotech stocks in Keith’s Topline Trader advisory newsletter.