Leading science journal Nature Communications has published an article on a “low-cost, highly energy-efficient” aluminum battery developed by an international research team led by National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) professor Chen Chia-chun (陳家俊), the university said yesterday.
Chen, a professor of chemistry, said that his team set out to search for an alternative to lithium-ion batteries widely used in mobile devices and electric cars, which he said have become expensive due to increasing demand.
It is a “clear trend” that companies have been seeking other materials to replace lithium when making batteries, he said.
As aluminum is the most ubiquitous element on the planet, an aluminum-ion battery would be remarkably cheaper than lithium-ion ones, he said, adding that the battery is paper-thin, flexible and therefore space-saving.
The aluminum-ion battery also has a longer lifespan, he said.
“Each aluminum atom releases three electrons during the same unit time one electron is released by a lithium atom, making them three times as efficient as lithium-ion batteries,” he said.
The aluminum-ion battery is also more stable than lithium-ion batteries, which are prone to catch fire, and safer than lead-acid batteries, which are toxic, he said.
“Aluminum oxidizes much more slowly than lithium, so even if the battery is cracked and the aluminum comes into contact with oxygen and water, it is less likely to catch fire,” he said.
The battery was jointly developed by Chen, former NTNU assistant professor of chemistry Wang Diyan (王迪彥), Stanford University professor of chemistry Hongjie Dai and National Taiwan University of Science and Technology professor of chemical engineering Hwang Bing Joe (黃炳照) using funds allocated for the Ministry of Education’s “Race to Top Universities” initiative.
The battery has enough output to power mobile devices and, theoretically, electric cars, Chen said.
The team has established a company in San Francisco near the Silicon Valley in a bid to identify niche markets for the product.
The research was published in the Feb. 13 edition of Nature Communications.
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
A group from the Taiwanese Designers in Australia association yesterday represented Taiwan at the Midsumma Pride March in Melbourne. The march, held in the St. Kilda suburb, is the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ parade and the flagship event of the annual Midsumma Festival. It attracted more than 45,000 spectators who supported the 400 groups and 10,000 marchers that participated this year, the association said. Taiwanese Designers said they organized a team to march for Taiwan this year, joining politicians, government agencies, professionals and community organizations in showing support for LGBTQIA+ people and diverse communities. As the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex
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