CHEMCONFLUX20 Special Issue

J. Indian Chem. Soc.,

Vol. 97, No. 10a, October 2020, pp. 1683-1687

Battery technologies and its future prospects

Shashi Kalaa, A. Mishra* b and Vishesh Shukla b
a Department of Energy Advisory, Mott MacDonald Pvt. Ltd., Noida-201 301, Uttar Pradesh, India
b Department of Applied Mechanics, Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology Allahabad,
Prayagraj-211 004, Uttar Pradesh, India
E-mail: [email protected]
Manuscript received online 20 July 2020, revised and accepted 26 October 2020

In today’s world, machines and a plethora of electronic devices surround humans. The growing market of electronic and elec-
trical devices and thrust to sustainable developments is a driving force for the development of batteries as energy storage
media, which are extensively used to power small gadgets to big cities. Many types of battery technologies are currently in
use and each has their own advantages and disadvantages. The present review work aimed to discuss and compare the vari-
ous battery technologies and its associated financial/technological challenges. Additionally, various battery technologies are
also discussed covering various aspects of the materials for future batteries to provide a research direction in the rapidly emerg-
ing field of energy storage systems.

Keywords: Battery technologies, lithium-ion battery, safety issues, energy storage.

Introduction
In today’s world, machines surround humans and there
is a plethora of electronic devices to make life easier and
comfortable. Recent advancement in technology is visible in
the form of smart phones, tablets, smart homes, smart auto- Fig. 1. Arrangements of cells as storage device.
mobiles etc. These advancements are an indication that world
is now entering into a new era of digitalization and automa- Batteries are very common and are present everywhere
tion considering the requirements of sustainable develop- around us but there are certain concerns like safety, com-
ment. An important aspect of sustainable development is the mercial viability, cost-effectiveness, sustainable battery ma-
use of emission-free energy. Under the Paris Agreement1,
terials, charging/discharging rate that has affected the growth
major countries have pledged to limit the global average tem-
and popularity of batteries as energy sources4. These con-
perature rise below 2ºC. In this regard, International Energy
cerns have affected the advancement in battery technolo-
Agency (IEA) has estimated that at least 20% of road ve-
gies in comparison to the development in electronic devices.
hicles should run on alternative energy by 20301. Renew-
The present work reviews the battery technologies with ref-
able power capacity is set to expand by 50% between 2019
and 2024, led by Solar Photo Voltaic (PV) system3. Renew- erence to the parameters like energy density, energy effi-
able energy sources rely on the energy storage system and ciency, materials, cost, safety and other desired parameters
research activities in the field of a battery is increasing with for sustainability and reusability. Further, the paper discusses
the shift in the current energy scenario. A battery is a device the challenges in the existing technologies and the future
with one or more electrochemical cells which coverts chemi- prospects in terms of new materials choices along with alter-
cal energy to electrical energy. Various combinations of one native battery technologies having scope of replacing Lithium
or more electrochemical cells are shown in Fig. 1. ion battery (LIB) technologies.

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History of battery technologies systems is a new sustainable solution for energy crisis, en-
The earliest battery technology dates back 2000 years ergy output fluctuations, and power unpredictability7. Bat-
when Parthians used to generate 1 to 2 volt of electricity by tery as electrical energy storage (EES) system is widely used
a galvanic cell made up of clay and iron rod surrounded by in electrical grid for load leveling applications to store the
copper tube filled with vinegar solution5. In 1800 AD, accord- energy and supplies it during energy shortage/increased
ing to Alessandro Volta, who discovered an early battery of energy demand as shown in Fig. 2a8. Available battery tech-
modern times, certain fluids generate continuous flow of elec- nologies can broadly be categorized into three groups as
tric power when used as conductor. Other important shifts in shown in Table 2. Among the several battery technologies
the development of batteries are listed in Table 1. Initially, available since many years, Fig. 2b shows the usage of LIB,
the batteries were developed by using widely available and which is 88% 9,10 until 2016. Fig. 2b also illustrates the chang-
popular anode and cathode materials. ing trend of groups (a) and (b) of battery technologies and
highlights how LIB is replacing most of the battery technolo-
Table 1. Major shift in battery technologies gies along with its increasing applicability, which must be
Year Technology due to its lightweight, and highest oxidation potential. While
1836 AD A primary cell (Daniel Cell) was developed. LIB technologies have been matured, there are significant
1860 AD A secondary cell (Lead acid battery) was developed6.
possibilities in the growth of group (c) battery technologies.
1866 AD An improved primary cell (Leclanche cell) was devel-
oped. This is due to the advancement in the field of nanomaterial
1886 AD First dry cell (a variant of Leclanche cell) using Zinc Car- synthesis such as synthesis of graphenes and MXenes. Ac-
bon Cell. cording to the recent analysis by Mckinesy11 in 2018, lithium,
1991 AD John B. Goodenough developed Lithium ion battery cobalt, and nickel for batteries had estimated global value of
(LIB).
~$5 billion, where the share of cobalt was ~60%, lithium was
~30% and highly pure nickel for batteries was ~10%. Fur-
However, with the technological advancement in chem- ther, the performance degradation of lithium ion batteries is
istry and material science, the battery technology evolved
due to loss of power or reduced discharge power at low tem-
progressively with the new choice of materials.
perature or because of overuse and aging.
Existing battery technologies This presents the need of searching for other optional
Development of energy from renewable sources and bat- material candidates13. Also, in view of future metal security
tery as energy storage for the power supply in the city power and limited availability of lithium metal, other metallic com-

Fig. 2. (a) Schematic plot of load levelling applications of EES system, (b) percentage mix of battery technology10.

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Table 2. Broad classification of battery technologies

Classifications Types Battery examples
Group (a) Primary cells Carbon/zinc Li/SOCl2
Secondary cells NiCd LIB
Flow battery ZnBr ZnCl
Group (b) Dry cell NiMH NiCd
Alkaline battery Zn/MnO2 BaSO4-Zn/MnO2
Pure metals Carbon/zinc NiMH
Group (c) Compounds/composites LIB Li15Si4
Nanomateials Ti3C2TX (MXene) Ti3CNTX (MXene)

positions such as Nickel Metal Hydride battery (NiMH), market in Asia Pacific (APAC). Therefore, it becomes impor-
Lithium-ion polymers, Reusable alkaline batteries are chang- tant to identify the financial and technological challenges
ing the battery market dynamics rapidly. Growing demand of battery technologies are facing for its growth. The major fi-
rechargeable batteries is the cause of growing research for nancial challenges are shown in Fig. 3. The research and
alternative materials. In Table 3, for rechargeable battery tech- developments in battery technologies nowadays significantly
nologies, financial and technological comparison establishes focuses sustainability and commercial viability. In this regard,
the reason for the market dynamics. This may be due to the although, the performance of nickel-based batteries in terms
cost incurred and the material availability constraints. Since of gravimetric and volumetric energy density is less as com-
lithium is comparatively rare, although lithium based batter- pared to LIB (Fig. 4), there is a need to bring improvements
ies are advantageous, there is a significant thrust to shift to in the specific energy of Nickel based (NiMH) or other bat-
some new materials. tery technologies as lithium supply will run out on long-term
basis and it is toxic15. Redox flow batteries and Advanced
Financial and technological challenges in battery tech- Redox flow batteries for large-scale storage (10 kW–10 MW)
nologies applications are common candidates having most of the de-
The global battery market is expected to grow from USD sired benefits16. Further, Aqueous Lithium Flow Battery is
14.08 billion in 2016 to USD 17.25 billion by 2021 at a Com- also a good option for stationary application and recently
pound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.15%14. The market sulphur and manganese flow batteries are also researched
of battery is expected to grow rapidly to become the largest by leading research universities to decrease the burden on

Table 3. Financial and technological comparison of battery technologies12

Comparative parameter NiCd NiMH Lead acid Li-ion Li-ion polymer Reusable alkaline
Technological parameters
Gravimetric energy density (Wh/kg) 45–80 60–120 30–50 110–160 100–130 80 (initial)
Internal resistance in m 100 to 2001 200 to 3001 <1001 150 to 2501 200 to 3001 200 to 20001
Fast charge time 1h 2–4 h 8–16 h 2–4 h 2–4 h 2–3 h
Overcharge tolerance Typical Moderate Low High Very low Low Moderate
Self-discharge/Month (room temperature) 20% 4 30% 4 5% 10% 5 ~10% 5 0.30%
Cell voltage (nominal) 1.25 V 1.25 V 2V 3.6 V 3.6 V 1.5 V
Maintenance requirement 30 to 60 days 60 to 90 days 3 to 6 months Not req. Not req. Not req.
Financial parameters
Typical battery cost (US$) $50 (7.2 V) $60 (7.2 V) $25 (6 V) $100 (7.2 V) $100 (7.2 V) $5 (9 V)
Cost per cycle (US$) $0.04 $0.12 $0.10 $0.14 $0.29 $0.10–0.50
Commercial use since 1950 1990 1970 (sealed) 1991 1999 1992

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Fig. 3. Major financial challenges in the growth of new battery technologies.

installers, (d) Disposal and recycling guidelines and (e) Emer-

gency response systems. Out of these problems, safety con-
cerns and design standards requirement has become bigger
hurdle for the approval by designated agencies and accept-
ability for the new technologies. For safety assessment in-
dustry standards, such as those set by the International So-
ciety of Automotive Engineers (SAE), International Organi-
zation for Standardization (ISO) etc., should be followed by
battery manufacturers. In order to ensure mechanical safety,
tests such as mechanical shock, drop test, penetration test,
crush test, rollover and vibration test should be conducted at
cell, battery, module and pack level. Another major concern
is environmental issue i.e. carbon footprint of battery manu-
Fig. 4. Comparison of the different battery technologies in terms of facturing and recycling units. There are environmental ben-
volumetric and gravimetric energy density17.
efits of Vanadium redox flow batteries, which lie in the high
lithium. Finding out the optimum solution to self-discharge recyclability of vanadium that outweigh the negative impact
problem and less specific energy density of NiCd and NiMH of their production cost and low energy density. Their simple
battery is one of the major chanllenge in the commercial and flexible design makes it easier to recycle up to 10–20
comeback of these technologies [1818-19]. However, usage times. Research is going on to raise redox flow batteries to
of LaNi5-type electrodes brings out higher hydrogen mass its full potential through cost and size reduction with high
capacity, increased safety of NiMH batteries and reduced energy density20.
cost. This has become a important reason for growing de-
mand of NiMH batteries for hybrid electrical vehicles (HEV). Future prospects in the development of battery tech-
Other technological challenges in the growth of the batteries nologies
are issues related to (a) Recycling, toxicity, overheating, ex- The future of the battery technologies is largely depen-
plosion, (b) Limited skilled battery system operating person- dent on the following points for wide market acceptability
als, (c) Insufficient accreditation and trained designers and and growth keeping safety standards as prime criteria:

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(i) Accelerated battery material discovery and interface applications is another dimension to work on. It is also in-
engineering: The material related issues such as self dis- ferred from the present work that there will be a huge de-
charge, exfoliation, loss of porosity, cracks, structural changes mand of number of testing facilities to perform safety test
etc. should be considered while developing new materials. from cell level to battery pack level, which will significantly
(ii) Smart sensing and self-healing functionalities: Self heal- govern the battery market dynamics in future.
ing polymer coats can be used to repair cracks developed
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