A team of researchers in China is using artificial intelligence to help breathe new life into old electric vehicle batteries. Extending the lifespan of lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles would be a major boon for making electric vehicles more endurable and cost-effective, help mitigate skyrocketing lithium demand, and slow the flow of critical – not to mention toxic – minerals into landfills.
The China-based scientists wanted to discover a molecule that could re-infuse a dead cell with lithium ions, replenishing its capacity. An electric vehicle battery is considered dead when its capacity dips below 80 percent of its original value. This usually is about eight to ten years after the battery is manufactured. But by pumping lithium ions back into a cell after it reaches the end of its life cycle, batteries could be brought back from the dead.
The question was what molecules would be able to achieve this…
