RMIT develops new proton battery prototype

RMIT develops new proton battery prototype

By Jessica Hudson  March 15th, 2018

Lithium batteries may soon be a thing of the past! Researchers at RMIT University in Melbourne have created a proton battery prototype that uses the energy created by splitting water molecules while charging to generate electricity.

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Lithium batteries may soon be a thing of the past! Researchers at RMIT University in Melbourne have created a proton battery prototype that uses the energy created by splitting water molecules while charging to generate electricity. The development comes as the potential need for high capacity batteries continues to increase. Currently, most batteries - including Tesla’s Powerwall - are made with lithium ion. These rely heavily on finite resources that are often damaging to obtain. The proton battery is more environmentally friendly, requiring water and carbon to generate energy. Removing lithium also allows the battery to be much smaller. According to an RMIT press release, the current prototype has a surface area of 5.5 square centimeters and is able to store as much energy as a commercially-available lithium ion battery.

Developing new, more environmentally friendly batteries could lead to more successful storage of renewable power sources, such as wind and solar, for use at a later time.

The prototype is still in development as researchers continue testing out different carbon materials, including graphene.

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Positive Environment News has been compiled using publicly available information. Planet Ark does not take responsibility for the accuracy of the original information and encourages readers to check the references before using this information for their own purposes.

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By Jessica Hudson

Jessica interned at Planet Ark in 2018. Studying Communication and minoring in Environmental Analysis and Policy at Boston University, she spent a trimester in Sydney Australia.

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