Next Generation Batteries: Hopes and Problems

Abstract

The demand for batteries with higher energy densities and higher power densities is continously rising. Although lithium ion technology made huge progress in recent years, it is to be expected that new chemistries and new battery designs are necessary to meet the expectations of society and politics for the performance of batteries e.g. in electromobility applications or as stationary storage devices. The list of possible candidates for the next generation battery is large and still growing every year. Based on simple theoretical calculations there are huge hopes that dramatically improved battery designs should be possible. But since batteries are intrinsic unstable nonequilibrium systems, each new material combination and each new battery design has to overcome its specific scientific challenges before a stable and safe battery with a sufficiently long lifetime is created. In the presentation, first an overview over some of the most promising and most interesting candidates for next generation batteries is given. Then we show at the example of sulfur based batteries how some of the scientific challenges of next generation batteries can be investigated with the help of theory based modeling and simulation techniques.