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Lamborghini has licensed a patent from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for a newly created organic battery called TAQ. In the future, it can give the Italian supercar manufacturer a higher charge density (less weight) and faster charging speed and a 10-15% reduced price tag for one of the most expensive parts of an electric car.
Unlike lithium-ion batteries, TAQ is an organic compound consisting mainly of carbon. The new material does not dissolve in two commonly used electrolytes, and its energy density is 50% higher than that of one of the most common lithium-ion battery chemistries used today, NMC (nickel-manganese-cobalt), reports TechCrunch .
TAQ, short for bis-tetraaminobenzoquinone, consists of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen arranged in a row of three adjacent hexagons. The structure is similar to that of graphite, which is often used today as an anode material (positive pole). Each TAQ molecule is attracted to six others by hydrogen bonds that aren’t as strong as other bonds, but are enough to create a nearly flat sheet of material that can be layered on top of one another with holes that store lithium ions.
TAQ’s appeal to Lamborghini is obvious: the material holds more energy than working chemical batteries and recharges faster. The lowest weight is also of primary importance for sports (actually for all) cars.
Batteries made from TAQ can also be cheaper. MIT researchers estimate that the cost of materials for the TAQ cathode could be a third to half as cheap as NMC. Considering that NMC cathodes account for about half of the materials cost of a Li-ion battery, this can reduce the current cost of the battery by 10-15%.
However, the actual savings depend on more than just which chemicals are required for the battery. TAQ will certainly require changes in the way batteries are manufactured. Battery manufacturers, which have built or plan to build hundreds of factories around the world, are in no hurry to abandon billions of capital expenditures. The battery market is flooded with chemicals that have enormous potential but have failed to overcome commercial barriers.
However, geopolitics can change this equation
According to Benchmark Minerals Intelligence, China dominates almost every link in the modern cathode supply chain. More than three quarters of finished cathode products are produced in this country. It also dominates the production and processing of nickel, cobalt and manganese. Cobalt mining is largely controlled by China. Although most cobalt is mined in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Chinese firms own many deposits. TAQ does not require these components and will allow almost any country with sufficient technological development to produce cathodes for such batteries and not depend on China.
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