Researchers Propose a "Fountain of Youth" for Lithium Batteries: Blasting Them Better with X-Rays

A team of researchers, led by the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV), has come up with a possible "fountain of youth" for lithium batteries — blasting tired old cells with X-rays to restore their performance, with a view to increasing the lifespan of everything from smartphones and laptops to electric vehicles (EVs).

"Replacing battery packs on electric vehicles can cost tens of thousands of dollars. A Tesla can drive for on average 340 miles on a full charge, but after a decade, maybe it only goes 200,” project lead Michael Pravica, professor of physics at UNLV, explains. "My lab is trying to regenerate the battery's capacity so that it's basically very close to new and usable for much longer. Instead of getting 10 years of use from these cars, drivers may now be able to get 15 or 20 years, and save money in the process."

The high-capacity lithium batteries used in laptops, smartphones, and electric vehicles all work through the process of lithium ions moving through an electrolytic solution from anode to cathode as energy is drawn from the battery then moving back again when the battery is recharged. The problem is, not all of the lithium ions make the journey — and as the battery gets older, its capacity drops.

"We realized that X-rays would be a good way to force out lithium ions that get caught in microscopic fractures as these batteries degrade," Pravica says of the team's research. "And we would be able to free them back into conduction instead of being stuck and reducing capacity. With X-rays, we can realize novel states of chemistry using very high energy. As X-rays ionize, they strip electrons from molecules and atoms. But they're so much higher energy that they can access new regions to achieve what we can't through conventional chemistry."

While typically used to peer through solid surfaces, the correct application of X-rays to lithium cells could restore their performance without the need to replace the battery itself. "The tech will allow electric vehicles and battery-powered products to hold their value for longer. If articulated well to business owners, I think they’ll come around to seeing X-ray regeneration as a win-win," Pravica predicts. "Moreover, regenerating batteries will have enormous environmental impacts because it will delay, if not obviate, the need to dump them into landfill."

"There are always going to be hurdles," Pravica warns of the route from theory to commercialization, with experimental trials of the technology due to complete this fall, "but to have a feeling that I did something useful for humanity is just priceless. I'm hoping the tests are all going to work, and that I'm able to make a good contribution to this community soon."

Pravica and colleagues have yet to publish their research, pending the outcome of the experiments later this year, but Pravica is already seeking a patent for the technology via the UNLV Office of Economic Development (OED). "Patents lend credibility to your ideas," he claims. "They show that people believe in what you're doing."