{"id":14640,"date":"2025-05-27T22:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-27T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/?p=14640"},"modified":"2025-05-26T05:28:10","modified_gmt":"2025-05-26T05:28:10","slug":"lithium-carbon-dioxide-batteries-co2-capture-energy-storage-may-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/lithium-carbon-dioxide-batteries-co2-capture-energy-storage-may-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Batteries that absorb carbon emissions move a step closer to reality \u2013 new\u00a0study"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
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\n Future power.\n Sweetie Khatun<\/a><\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n\n Daniel Commandeur<\/a>, University of Surrey<\/a><\/em>; Mahsa Masoudi<\/a>, University of Surrey<\/a><\/em>, and Siddharth Gadkari<\/a>, University of Surrey<\/a><\/em><\/span>\n\n

What if there were a battery that could release energy while trapping carbon dioxide? This isn\u2019t science fiction; it\u2019s the promise of lithium-carbon dioxide (Li-CO\u2082) batteries, which are currently a hot research topic. <\/p>\n\n

Lithium-carbon dioxide (Li-CO\u2082) batteries could be a two-in-one solution to the current problems of storing renewable energy<\/a> and taking carbon emissions<\/a> out of the air. They absorb carbon dioxide and convert it into a white powder called lithium carbonate while discharging energy. <\/p>\n\n

These batteries could have profound implications for cutting emissions from vehicles and industry \u2013 and might even enable long-duration missions on Mars, where the atmosphere is 95% CO\u2082<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

To make these batteries commercially viable, researchers have mainly been wrestling with problems related to recharging them. Now, our team<\/a> at the University of Surrey has come up with a promising way forward. So how close are these \u201cCO\u2082-breathing\u201d batteries to becoming a practical reality?<\/p>\n\n

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Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox.<\/strong> Sign up to our daily newsletter<\/a> to receive all The Conversation UK\u2019s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.<\/em><\/p>\n\n

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Like many great scientific breakthroughs, Li-CO\u2082 batteries were a happy accident. Slightly over a decade ago, a US-French team<\/a> of researchers were trying to address problems with lithium air batteries, another frontier energy-storage technology. Whereas today\u2019s lithium-ion batteries generate power by moving and storing lithium ions within electrodes, lithium air batteries work by creating a chemical reaction between lithium and oxygen. <\/p>\n\n

The problem has been the \u201cair\u201d part, since even the tiny (0.04%) volume of CO\u2082 found in air is enough to disrupt this careful chemistry, producing unwanted lithium carbonate (Li\u2082CO\u2083). As many battery scientists will tell you, the presence of Li\u2082CO\u2083 can also be a real pain in regular lithium-ion batteries, causing unhelpful side reactions and electrical resistance.<\/p>\n\n

Nonetheless the scientists noticed something interesting about this CO\u2082 contamination: it improved the battery\u2019s amount of charge<\/a>. From this point on, work began on intentionally adding CO\u2082 gas to batteries to take advantage of this, and the lithium-CO\u2082 battery was born.<\/p>\n\n

How it works<\/h2>\n\n

Their great potential relates to the chemical reaction at the positive side of the battery, where small holes are cut in the casing to allow CO\u2082 gas in. There it dissolves in the liquid electrolyte (which allows the charge to move between the two electrodes) and reacts with lithium that has already been dissolved there. During this reaction, it\u2019s believed that four electrons are exchanged<\/a> between lithium ions and carbon dioxide. <\/p>\n\n

This electron transfer determines the theoretical charge that can be stored in the battery. In a normal lithium-ion battery, the positive electrode exchanges just one electron per reaction (in lithium air batteries<\/a>, it\u2019s two to four electrons). The greater exchange of electrons in the lithium-carbon dioxide battery, combined with the high voltage of the reaction, explains their potential to greatly outperform today\u2019s lithium-ion batteries.<\/p>\n\n

However, the technology has a few issues. The batteries don\u2019t last very long. Commercial lithium-ion packs routinely survive 1,000\u201310,000 charging cycles; most LiCO\u2082 prototypes fade after fewer than 100.<\/p>\n\n

They\u2019re also difficult to recharge. This requires breaking down the lithium carbonate to release lithium and CO\u2082, which can be energy intensive. This energy requirement is a little like a hill that must be cycled up before the reaction can coast, and is known as overpotential.<\/p>\n\n

You can reduce this requirement by printing the right catalyst material on the porous positive electrode. Yet these catalysts are typically expensive and rare noble metals, such as ruthenium and platinum, which is a significant barrier to commercial viability.<\/p>\n\n

Our team<\/a> has found an alternative catalyst, caesium phosphomolybdate, which is far cheaper and easy to manufacture at room temperature. This material made the batteries stable for 107 cycles, while also storing 2.5 times as much charge as a lithium-ion. And we significantly reduced the energy cost involved in breaking down lithium carbonate, for an overpotential of 0.67 volts, which is only about double what would be necessary in a commercial product.<\/p>\n\n

Our research team is now working to further reduce the cost of this technology by developing a catalyst that replaces caesium, since it\u2019s the phosphomolybdate that is key. This could make the system more economically viable and scalable for widespread deployment.<\/p>\n\n

We also plan to study how the battery charges and discharges in real time. This will provide a clearer understanding of the internal mechanisms at work, helping to optimise performance and durability.<\/p>\n\n

\n \"Mars\"<\/a>\n
\n Lithium-carbon dioxide batteries could help humans to colonise Mars.<\/span>\n Forelse Stock<\/a><\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n\n

A major focus of upcoming tests will be to evaluate how the battery performs under different CO\u2082 pressures. So far, the system has only been tested under idealised conditions (1 bar). If it can work at 0.1 bar of pressure, it will be feasible for car exhausts and gas boiler flues, meaning you could capture CO\u2082 while you drive or heat your home. <\/p>\n\n

Demonstrating that this works will be an important confirmation of commercial viability, albeit we would expect the battery\u2019s charge capacity to reduce at this pressure. By our rough calculations, 1kg of catalyst could absorb around 18.5kg of CO\u2082. Since a car driving 100 miles emits around 18kg-20kg<\/a> of CO\u2082, that means such a battery could potentially offset a day\u2019s drive. <\/p>\n\n

If the batteries work at 0.006 bar, the pressure on the Martian atmosphere, they could power anything from an exploration rover to a colony. At 0.0004 bar, Earth\u2019s ambient air pressure, they could capture CO\u2082 from our atmosphere and store power anywhere. In all cases, the key question will be how it affects the battery\u2019s charge capacity. <\/p>\n\n

Meanwhile, to improve the battery\u2019s number of recharge cycles, we need to address the fact that the electrolyte dries out. We\u2019re currently investigating solutions, which probably involve developing casings that only CO\u2082 can move into. As for reducing the energy required for the catalyst to work, it\u2019s likely to require optimising the battery\u2019s geometry to maximise the reaction rate \u2013 and to introduce a flow of CO\u2082, comparable to how fuel cells work<\/a> (typically by feeding in hydrogen and oxygen). <\/p>\n\n

If this continued work can push the battery\u2019s cycle life above 1,000 cycles, cut overpotential below 0.3 V, and replace scarce elements entirely, commercial Li-CO\u2082 packs could become reality. Our experiments will determine just how versatile and far-reaching the battery\u2019s applications might be, from carbon capture on Earth to powering missions on Mars. <\/p>\n\n

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Don\u2019t have time to read about climate change as much as you\u2019d like?<\/em><\/strong>\n
Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead.<\/a> Every Wednesday, The Conversation\u2019s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. Join the 45,000+ readers who\u2019ve subscribed so far.<\/a><\/em>\"The<\/p>\n\n

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Daniel Commandeur<\/a>, Surrey Future Fellow, School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, University of Surrey<\/a><\/em>; Mahsa Masoudi<\/a>, PhD Researcher, Chemical Engineering, University of Surrey<\/a><\/em>, and Siddharth Gadkari<\/a>, Lecturer in Chemical Process Engineering, University of Surrey<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n\n

This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Future power. Sweetie Khatun Daniel Commandeur, University of Surrey; Mahsa Masoudi, University of Surrey, and Siddharth Gadkari, University…\n","protected":false},"author":1210,"featured_media":14642,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/c\/cc\/Battery-dynamic-color.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17,16],"tags":[10991,10969,10973,10974,10986,10964,10962,10980,10965,10988,10960,10963,10987,10976,10977,10983,10966,10979,10990,10971,10967,10978,10982,10981,10968,10975,10984,10985,10961,10970,10972,10989],"class_list":{"0":"post-14640","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-math-and-the-sciences","8":"category-tech","9":"tag-battery-charging-optimization","10":"tag-battery-chemical-reactions","11":"tag-battery-cycle-life","12":"tag-battery-for-gas-boiler-emissions","13":"tag-battery-for-space-missions","14":"tag-battery-for-vehicle-emissions","15":"tag-battery-innovation","16":"tag-battery-performance-under-co-pressure","17":"tag-battery-technology-for-mars","18":"tag-battery-with-low-overpotential","19":"tag-caesium-phosphomolybdate-catalyst","20":"tag-carbon-capture-battery","21":"tag-catalyst-for-carbon-batteries","22":"tag-co-absorbing-battery","23":"tag-co-breathing-battery","24":"tag-co-capturing-catalyst","25":"tag-co-powered-battery","26":"tag-energy-storage-and-carbon-removal","27":"tag-future-of-energy-storage","28":"tag-high-charge-battery","29":"tag-li-co-batteries","30":"tag-lithium-battery-reaction-mechanism","31":"tag-lithium-battery-recharging","32":"tag-lithium-carbonate-formation","33":"tag-lithium-carbon-dioxide-batteries","34":"tag-lithium-ion-battery-alternatives","35":"tag-long-duration-battery-storage","36":"tag-martian-battery-technology","37":"tag-noble-metal-battery-catalysts","38":"tag-overpotential-in-batteries","39":"tag-renewable-energy-storage","40":"tag-scalable-energy-storage","41":"cs-entry","42":"cs-video-wrap"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14640","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1210"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14640"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14640\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14641,"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14640\/revisions\/14641"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14640"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14640"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14640"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}