Zinc is one of the four most common metals in daily life, ranking only after iron, aluminum, and copper. In modern industry, zinc has made an indelible contribution to battery manufacturing and is a very important metal. Most disposable batteries in our daily lives use inexpensive zinc, such as zinc-manganese batteries—which corrode and deteriorate with repeated charging. Due to this characteristic, zinc batteries have long been considered unsuitable for use in rechargeable batteries. However, according to a recent report in the international academic journal *Nature Communications*, Stanford University and Toyota Central R&D Center have jointly developed a new technology for making rechargeable batteries using zinc.
The needle-like substances that appear during charging are directed in a direction that does not damage the battery.
The main force behind the research on the new technology is researchers such as Sogo Higashi from Stanford University, and their research results have been recognized by Nature Publishing Group.
Surprisingly, the new zinc battery developed using this technology uses the same raw materials as inexpensive disposable batteries. It is well known that most disposable batteries use inexpensive and readily available zinc as the negative electrode material. After repeated charging, zinc forms a needle-like substance on the surface of the negative electrode. This needle-like substance damages the battery structure, so rechargeable batteries generally do not use zinc as a raw material.
So how does this new zinc battery, jointly developed by Japan and the United States, achieve perfect energy storage?
It turns out that after repeated research and comparative experiments using zinc foil and copper foil electrodes, Dong Xiangwu and his colleagues discovered that the formation of zinc dendrites in zinc-plated batteries during the electroplating-stripping cycle in electrochemistry was a major cause of battery storage failure. Furthermore, by finding a method to control the transfer of ions in the battery solution, the reusability of zinc batteries could be achieved.
Inspired by this, researchers optimized the internal structure of traditional metal foil batteries by influencing the movement channels of ions through an internal insulating layer. This caused needle-like dendrites to still appear in zinc during charging, but they extended in a direction that did not disrupt the battery's structure. For example, in traditional disposable batteries, dendrites grow horizontally and straight, but in the new zinc battery, the dendrites extend in a curved manner.
It costs less than half the price of a lithium-ion battery.
The development of new zinc batteries has indeed added a new type of battery, but in modern society, lithium-ion batteries have become the mainstream. Is it still necessary for us to produce zinc batteries?
Indeed, research on lithium-metal batteries was proposed as early as 1912. When Sony successfully developed the lithium-ion battery in 1992, lithium, as a highly reactive metal, became widely used. Besides its application in life-saving pacemakers, it was also used to develop lithium-manganese batteries. The widespread adoption of the latter has significantly reduced the weight and size of portable electronic devices such as mobile phones, personal computers, calculators, digital cameras, and even watches.
However, zinc batteries actually have more advantages in comparison. They are not only easy to use, but also have low production and storage costs because zinc is relatively stable chemically and does not pose a risk of flammability or explosion.
Studies have shown that this new type of zinc battery performs comparably to currently used lithium-ion batteries, but costs less than half the price. Furthermore, the production process can directly utilize existing equipment, making cost control easier.
New zinc batteries can expand the application range of electricity storage.
This year, the demand for environmentally friendly vehicles, represented by electric vehicles, is steadily increasing, a trend that is also driving the development of lithium-ion battery materials, a fundamental component of the battery market. The global market is expanding rapidly at a rate of 20% annually.
Under these circumstances, what impact will the development of new types of batteries have on related industries?
Speaking of this issue, we must mention the lithium-ion battery production boom that Japan once experienced. During that period, although Japanese industry made technological breakthroughs in many aspects of lithium-ion batteries, such as capacity, lifespan, charging time, and performance, it was overtaken by South Korean companies in the price war.
For example, last year, Panasonic's battery plant in my country was forced to close due to deteriorating business conditions, and LG of South Korea also took a share of Tesla's battery orders. Currently, Samsung holds a 27% market share in the global electric vehicle battery market, ranking first.
At this juncture, the emergence of new zinc batteries is undoubtedly a shot in the arm, not only giving Japan the potential to regain its advantage in battery technology but also significantly reducing battery production costs. Naturally, this will increase the competitive pricing power of battery manufacturers, allowing major automakers to accelerate the widespread adoption of electric vehicles.
In addition, the new zinc battery can expand the application scope of electricity storage, compensate for the weakness of solar and wind power generation being affected by weather, and achieve a relatively stable power supply from renewable energy sources. On the other hand, it also poses a challenge to the more mature lithium-ion battery technology, urging its further development. Of course, the current mainstream trend remains, and the development of the new zinc battery requires time to accumulate; the coexistence of the two types of batteries will not change for a considerable period of time.
