The Australian electric car battery breakthrough: Aussie smarts commercialise new battery that could result in a big change for the EVs we drive such as the Tesla Model Y, BYD Seal and more

Australian researchers may have just cracked the code to deliver affordable, long-range electric cars and even electric aircraft.

A team at Melbourne’s Monash University, has made lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries commercially viable.

Li-S batteries are claimed to be significantly lighter and capable of double the energy storage of conventional lithium-ion batteries.

This opens the door to apply them to drones and even aircraft in the future according to a recently published paper.

The results were a decade in the making and the team has solved the technology's biggest problem — its slow charging time, according to author of the paper and PhD candidate, Maleesha Nishshanke.

“Inspired by the chemistry of Betadine, a common household antiseptic, we found a way to accelerate the charge and discharge rates, making them a viable battery option for real-world heavy-duty use,” she said.

Co-lead author of the paper Dr Petar Jovanović, said the battery’s light weight made them ideal for aircraft.

“This represents a major breakthrough toward making Li-S a feasible option not just for long-haul EVs but particularly in industries like aviation and maritime that require rapid, reliable power that is crucially light-weighted,” said Dr Jovanović.

The project was supported by the US Airforce.

The batteries could also be applied to long-range electric cars, with the potential for more than 1000km of range on a single charge.

“Imagine an electric vehicle that can travel from Melbourne to Sydney on a single charge or a smartphone that charges in minutes - we’re on the cusp of making this a reality,” Dr Jovanović said.

Co-lead researcher Professor Mainak Majumder, said the batteries have excellent energy density potential.

“Our catalyst has significantly enhanced the C-rate performance of Li-S batteries, demonstrated in early proof-of-concept prototype cells. With commercial scaling and larger cell production, this technology could deliver energy densities up to 400 Wh/kg.”

This kind of power storage puts the Li-S batteries on par with solid-state cells currently under development by a wide range of carmakers.

SAIC, which owns MG, claims it is on the cusp of delivering a solid-state battery with energy density of more than 400Wh/kg by 2026.

It isn’t the only one working on the future power source, with Toyota and Nissan planning to launch cars with the cells by 2027 and 2028 respectively.

Chinese brand Chery is also well advanced in its pursuit of solid-state batteries. It too is aiming for more than 400Wh/kg in its cells before leaping above 500Wh/kg by 2027.

All these new battery types double the energy capacity, and therefore the potential driving range, of the two most common lithium-ion battery types.

BYD claims its next generation of lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) batteries can store 190Wh/kg. The nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) batteries most commonly used by other carmakers generally have in the low 200Wh/kg range.

BYD’s LFP batteries don’t use rare earth metals such as nickel and cobalt, so are much cheaper to build, and are less fire-prone.