Minerals are essential for the function of human body cells: They control blood clotting, regulate the water balance, support our immune system and help build bones and teeth. Calcium plays a particularly important role in the latter. A mineral for stability. A potential that can also be exploited in battery research?
A team at the Helmholtz Institute Ulm (HIU) led by Dr. Zhirong Zhao-Karger, Group Leader for Advanced Battery Materials at the Institute of Nanotechnology (INT), is researching this. The PhD chemist has set herself the task of researching calcium-sulphur batteries as an alternative to lithium-ion batteries for commercial applications. “The steady expansion of electromobility and renewable energy storage will lead to a shortage of raw materials. Projections already predict that there will not be enough lithium for the increasing electrification. We need an available, long-term and sustainable alternative to relieve the pressure on the lithium market and meet battery demand at the same time,” explains Zhao-Karger.
In the CaSino joint project coordinated by the German Aerospace Center (DLR), Zhao-Karger, together with four other research institutes and two industrial companies, is investigating the potential of calcium-sulphur batteries with the involvement of an industrial advisory board. The combination offers several advantages over lithium-ion: Calcium is one of the five most common elements worldwide and is therefore around 400 times more common than lithium. In addition, the high storage capacity and cell voltage are ideal for a battery application. Sulphur as a counterpart also offers a high storage capacity and would also be recycled as a by-product of the refinery. A win-win situation.
