Next gen electric car battery in making

Toronto: Scientists at University of Waterloo have announced a breakthrough in lithium-sulphur technology to develop a new generation of cheaper, lighter and more powerful electric car battery. Their discovery of a material that maintains a rechargeable sulphur cathode helps overcome a primary hurdle to building a lithium-sulphur (Li-S) battery.

Such a battery can theoretically power an electric car three times further than current lithium-ion batteries for the same weight - at much lower cost. "This is a major step forward and brings the lithium-sulphur battery one step closer to reality," said chemistry professor Linda Nazar from the faculty of science.

Sulphur as a battery material is extremely abundant, relatively light and very cheap. Unfortunately, the sulphur cathode exhausts itself after only a few cycles because the sulphur dissolves into the electrolyte solution as it is reduced by incoming electrons to form polysulphides.