20240924|新型电池设计或将提高功率和容量（下）

Thus far, innovation on inactive components has mostly focused on shrinking them down, so that more electrode material can fit in the cell.

到目前为止，非活性组件的创新主要集中在缩小它们的尺寸，以便更多的电极材料可以装入电池中。

But these long overlooked parts are the cool kids now, says one battery-component startup founder.

但一位电池组件初创公司创始人表示，这些长期被忽视的部件现在很受欢迎。

Electrolytes are the true game-changer, says Shirley Meng, the chief scientist at Argonne National Laboratory's energy storage unit.

阿贡国家实验室储能部门首席科学家孟颖表示，电解质才是真正的游戏规则改变者。

This is because they make physical contact with every other component.

这是因为它们与其他所有组件都有物理接触。

Given their pivotal role, researchers like Dr Meng believe better electrolytes hold the key to big gains not just in lithium-ion batteries, but in their successors, too.

鉴于其关键作用，像孟博士这样的研究人员认为，更好的电解质不仅是锂离子电池取得巨大进步的关键，也是其继任者取得巨大进步的关键。

In June researchers at Asahi Kasei, a Japanese conglomerate, found significant performance gains when they substituted the electrolyte used in a standard Li-ion battery with their proprietary alternative.

今年6月，日本企业集团旭化成的研究人员发现，当他们用专有的替代品替代标准锂离子电池中使用的电解质时，性能得到了显著提升。

At -40°C the cells with the Asahi Kasei electrolyte retained charge, though the carbonate-based electrolyte used in standard batteries did not.

在-40°C时，使用旭化成电解质的电池可以保持电量，而标准电池中使用的碳酸盐基电解质则不能。

At 60°C, 15 degrees above the maximum operating temperature for a Li-ion battery, the new electrolyte-filled cell could undergo twice as many charging cycles before seeing a 20% drop in battery health.

在60°C（比锂离子电池的最高工作温度高15度）的温度下，新的充满电解质的电池可以经历两倍的充电周期，但电池健康状况会下降20%。

As the world heats up, such temperature-resistance will be crucial for the stability of electric vehicles and other energy-storage systems.

随着全球变暖，这种耐高温性对于电动汽车和其他储能系统的稳定性至关重要。

Perhaps the most promising battery innovations affect the least considered component: the current collector.

也许最有前途的电池创新会影响到最不受重视的组件：集电器。

This element, made of thin aluminium sheets that sit atop the cathode and copper sheets that sit atop the anode, conducts electricity from the battery to the circuit.

该元件由位于阴极顶部的薄铝片和位于阳极顶部的铜片制成，可将电流从电池传导到电路。

Addionics, an Israeli company, has found that tweaking the geometry of these sheets can boost the batteries' performance.

以色列公司Addionics发现，调整这些薄片的几何形状可以提高电池的性能。

Unlike the smooth sheets used in today's batteries, Addionics's offering has hills and valleys; like a "tiny egg carton", says Moshiel Biton, the company's founder. It is also porous.

与当今电池中使用的光滑薄片不同，Addionics的产品有山有谷；就像一个“小鸡蛋盒”，公司创始人Moshiel Biton说道。它也是多孔的。

This combination of factors allows active materials such as lithium or graphite from the anode and cathode to seep into the current collectors and thereby improve their conductivity.

这些因素的结合使得阳极和阴极中的活性材料（例如锂或石墨）能够渗入集电器，从而提高其导电性。

When Addionics tested its 3D current collector, it found that the design was less likely to come unstuck from the electrodes than conventional collectors were.

Addionics测试其3D集电器时发现，与传统集电器相比，这种设计更不容易从电极上脱落。

Among other things, that increased its capacity and ability to carry current.

此外，这还增加了其容量和载流能力。

Tests have also shown that this design of collector could also help the latest generation of Li-ion batteries double the number of charging cycles they can undergo.

测试还表明，这种集电器设计还可以帮助最新一代锂离子电池将其可承受的充电次数增加一倍。

As Addionics's 3D current collector is chemistry-agnostic, it will work just as well on a lithium-ion battery as on any successor.

由于Addionics的3D集电器与化学无关，因此它在锂离子电池上和在任何后续产品上都能很好地起效。

Such advances, though significant, have yet to be manufactured at scale.

这些进步虽然意义重大，但尚未大规模生产。

Big battery companies want "drop-in" products, says Francis Wang, NanoGraf's boss.

NanoGraf的老板Francis Wang表示，大型电池公司想要“即插即用”产品。

In many cases, manufacturers would need to overhaul their production processes to accommodate any single change in design, a risky and expensive proposition.

在许多情况下，制造商需要彻底改革其生产流程以适应任何单一的设计变化，这是一个风险大且成本高昂的提议。

If they can get over their risk aversion, though, then lasting breakthroughs could await.

然而，如果他们能够克服风险规避心理，那么持久的突破就可能到来。