Each layer of electrode material has to be separated from each other with a metal foil and polymer film layer in a typical lithium-ion battery, only about half of this type of battery ends up storing energy. Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) has made the electrode portion thicker with a patterned material and highly conductive metallic, which forces the charge through focused points, they call “flat print nozzles,” as thin as a hair. This allows for more paths which the lithium-ions can travel. An added benefit is the ability to give bursts of energy, similar to supercapacitors, without impacting the battery’s storage ability. PARC’s Director of Systems Laboratory, Scott Elrod said “These [new materials and methods] could increase battery storage capacity by 10 to 30 percent while costing little more to manufacture.” The goal is to put fewer batteries with high energy density into electric vehicles, bringing the overall build cost down.
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