PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

A path to safer, high-energy electric vehicle batteries

A path to safer, high-energy electric vehicle batteries
2025-03-12
(Press-News.org) Nickel’s role in the future of electric vehicle batteries is clear: It’s more abundant and easier to obtain than widely used cobalt, and its higher energy density means longer driving distances between charges.

However, nickel is less stable than other materials with respect to cycle life, thermal stability, and safety. Researchers from The University of Texas at Austin and Argonne National Laboratory aim to change that with a new study that dives deep into nickel-based cathodes, one of the two electrodes that facilitate energy storage in batteries.

"High-nickel cathodes have the potential to revolutionize the EV market by providing longer driving ranges," said Arumugam Manthiram, a professor at the Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering and Texas Materials Institute and one of the leaders of the study published in Nature Energy. "Our study provides a comprehensive analysis of their thermal stability, which is crucial for developing safer batteries." ​

The Research: The research team conducted more than 500 measurements on 15 high-nickel cathode materials. They discovered that each cathode has a critical state of charge that defines its safe operating limit. The strength of metal-oxygen bonds and surface reactivity influence this crucial state. ​

Once the material exceeds this limit, instability creeps in. That can trigger the catastrophic condition of thermal runaway, when increased temperature releases energy that further heats the battery, substantially increasing the risk of failure and/or fires. 

As part of this project, the researchers developed a thermal stability index, quantifying how the material reacts during thermal runaway. ​Factors influencing cathode thermal stability include cathode composition, surface chemistry, nickel content, and crystal size.

Why it Matters: This research has far-reaching implications, offering a path to safer, more efficient batteries that can support the growing demand for electric vehicles. ​As the world moves towards cleaner energy solutions, these advancements are crucial for making EVs more viable and attractive for consumers. ​

"Our work provides a roadmap for the industry to follow, ensuring that the high energy density of these cathodes does not come at the cost of safety," said Zehao Cui, a research associate in Manthiram’s group.

​What’s Next: The researchers will continue their work on thermal stability and cathodes. Up next, they will bring electrolytes into the equation.

Electrolytes are the chemical components, often liquid-based, that shuttle the charge-carrying ions back and forth. They enable the battery's charge and discharge functionality, and ensuring reliable interactions between electrolytes and cathodes is critical to improving battery safety.  

END

[Attachments] See images for this press release:
A path to safer, high-energy electric vehicle batteries

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

openRxiv launch to sustain and expand preprint sharing in life and health sciences

2025-03-12
openRxiv has officially launched as an independent nonprofit to oversee bioRxiv and medRxiv, the world's leading preprint servers for life and health sciences. openRxiv ensures that researchers worldwide can continue to share discoveries rapidly and openly. With a researcher-led governance model, openRxiv strengthens the foundation of preprint sharing, empowering scientists to communicate findings at the speed of discovery. "We want openRxiv to be a home for all scientists—whether they're early-career researchers, established scholars, or from institutions large and small ...

“Overlooked” scrub typhus may affect 1 in 10 in rural India, and be a leading cause of hospitalisations for fever

2025-03-12
A study of over 32,000 people living in Tamil Nadu, India suggests scrub typhus infection may affect up to 10% of rural populations annually and is a leading yet under-recognised cause of hospitalisations for fever across India. The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, was conducted as part of a collaboration between the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and the Christian Medical College Vellore, India. Scrub typhus is a potentially life-threatening infection caused by the bacterium Orientia tsutsugamushi, which belongs to the rickettsia family. It is spread to humans through the bite of infected larval mites or chiggers. Chiggers are found ...

Vocal changes in birds may predict age-related disorders in people, study finds

2025-03-12
University of Arizona neuroscientists studying the brains of songbirds have found that aging alters the gene expressions that control the birds' song. The finding could lead to earlier diagnoses and better treatments for human neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease, which are known to hinder vocal production in their early stages. The study, published in the journal Neurobiology of Aging, found that networks of interacting genes, in a region of the bird's ...

Spotiphy integrative analysis tool turns spatial RNA sequencing into imager

Spotiphy integrative analysis tool turns spatial RNA sequencing into imager
2025-03-12
Spatial transcriptomics is a cutting-edge technique that characterizes gene expression within sections of tissue, such as heart, skin or liver tissue. These snapshots provide insights into how spatial organization affects cellular functions across the spectrum of biology and disease. Up to now, researchers conducting spatial transcriptomics have had to choose between two options based on their needs: genome-wide coverage or single-cell resolution. To solve this tradeoff, scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the University of ...

Dynamic acoustics of hand clapping, elucidated

2025-03-12
ITHACA, N.Y. -- In a scene toward the end of the 2006 film, “X-Men: The Last Stand,” a character claps and sends a shock wave that knocks out an opposing army. Sunny Jung, professor of biological and environmental engineering in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, was intrigued. “It made me curious about how the wave propagates when we clap our hands,” Jung said. Jung is senior author of a study, published March 11 in Physical Review Research, that elucidates the complex physical mechanisms and fluid dynamics involved in a handclap, with potential applications in bioacoustics ...

AAN, AES and EFA issue position statement on seizures and driving safety

2025-03-12
MINNEAPOLIS — The American Academy of Neurology (AAN), the American Epilepsy Society (AES) and the Epilepsy Foundation of America (EFA) have issued a consensus position statement on seizures, driver licensure and medical reporting. The position statement is published on March 12, 2025, online in Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN). It was developed with the Ethics, Law, and Humanities Committee, a joint committee of the AAN, the American Neurological ...

Do brain changes remain after recovery from concussion?

2025-03-12
EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 4:00 P.M. ET, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12, 2025 MINNEAPOLIS — For college athletes with concussion, brain changes may remain visible in brain scans up to a year after they are cleared to return to play, according to a study published on March 12, 2025, online in Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN). “Concussion can have long-term effects on brain health, and there is growing evidence that brain recovery may persist months to years, even after symptoms like headache, fatigue and balance problems resolve,” said author Nathan Churchill, PhD, of ...

Want to climb the leadership ladder? Try debate training

2025-03-12
For those looking to climb the corporate ladder in the U.S., here’s an idea you might not have considered: debate training. According to a new research paper, people who learn the basics of debate are more likely to advance to leadership roles in U.S. organizations, compared to those who do not receive this training. One key reason is that being equipped with debate skills makes people more assertive in the workplace.  “Debate training can promote leadership emergence and advancement by fostering individuals’ assertiveness, which is a key, valued leadership characteristic in U.S. organizations,” says MIT Associate Professor Jackson Lu, one of the scholars ...

No countries on track to meet all 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals

No countries on track to meet all 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals
2025-03-12
A new analysis reveals complex linkages among the United Nations’ (UN’s) 17 Sustainable Development Goals—which include such objectives as gender equality and quality education—and finds that no country is on track to meet all 17 goals by the target year of 2030. Alberto García-Rodríguez of Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS One on March 12, 2025. In 2015, UN member countries adopted the Sustainable Development ...

Robotics and spinal stimulation restore movement in paralysis

Robotics and spinal stimulation restore movement in paralysis
2025-03-12
Spinal cord injuries are life-altering, often leaving individuals with severe mobility impairments. While rehabilitation robotics—devices that guide movement during therapy—have improved training for those with spinal cord injuries, their effectiveness remains limited. Without active muscle engagement, robotic-assisted movement alone does not sufficiently retrain the nervous system. A team at .NeuroRestore, led by Grégoire Courtine and Jocelyne Bloch, has now developed a system that seemlessly integrates an implanted spinal cord neuroprosthesis with rehabilitation robotics. The researchers’ device delivers well-timed electrical pulses to stimulate ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Heat and heavy metals are changing the way that bees buzz

What’s behind the enormous increase in early-onset gastrointestinal cancers?

Pharmacogenomics expert advances precision medicine for bipolar disorder

Brazilian researcher explores centenarian stem cells for aging insights

Dr. Xuyu Qian's breakthrough analysis of 18 million brain cells advances understanding of human brain development

Gene networks decode human brain architecture from health to glioma

How artificial light at night damages brain health and metabolism

For ultrasound, ultra-strength not always a good thing

Matching your workouts to your personality could make exercising more enjoyable and give you better results

Study shows people perceive biodiversity

Personality type can predict which forms of exercise people enjoy

People can accurately judge biodiversity through sight and sound

People diagnosed with dementia are living longer, global study shows

When domesticated rabbits go feral, new morphologies emerge

Rain events could cause major failure of Waikīkī storm drainage by 2050

Breakthrough in upconversion luminescence research: Uncovering the energy back transfer mechanism

Hidden role of 'cell protector' opens cancer treatment possibilities

How plants build the microbiome they need to survive in a tough environment

Depression due to politics and its quiet danger to democracy addressed in new book 'The Sad Citizen'

International experts and patients unite to help ensure all patients are fully informed before consenting to new surgical procedures

Melting glaciers could trigger more explosive eruptions globally, finds research

Nearly half of U.S. grandchildren live within 10 miles of a grandparent

Study demonstrates low-cost method to remove CO₂ from air using cold temperatures, common materials

Masonic Medical Research Institute (MMRI) welcomes 13 students to prestigious Summer Fellowship program

Mass timber could elevate hospital construction

A nuanced model of soil moisture illuminates plant behavior and climate patterns

$2.6 million NIH grant backs search for genetic cure in deadly heart disease

Pennsylvania’s medical cannabis program changed drastically when anxiety was added as a qualifying condition

1 in 5 overweight adults could be reclassified with obesity according to new framework

Findings of study on how illegally manufactured fentanyl enters U.S. contradict common assumptions, undermining efforts to control supply

[Press-News.org] A path to safer, high-energy electric vehicle batteries