Game-Changer Battery Could Revolutionize Flights and Phones

In Ohio, the United States, researchers are developing a graphene battery to solve the polluting and energy-consuming problem of commercial flights, and should they be successful, their technology could revolutionize how we electrify not only modes of transportation, but also phones and computers.

With its 500 watt-hours per kilogram, the graphene battery SABERS “far exceeds the capabilities of lithium-ion batteries that are considered to be the state of the art,” explains Dr. Rocco Viggiano, leader of the engineering team working at NASA Glenn Research Center.

As the current batteries for electric vehicles are not powerful enough, they could never be used on commercial flights. NASA’s project SABERS – which stands for Solid-state Architecture Batteries for Enhanced Rechargeability and Safety – intends to remedy that problem with graphene batteries. Each cell of the battery would have three layers: the anode which is lithium metal, the electrolyte, and the cathode which is a combination of sulfur and selenium. Organized into packaged cells, the batteries are stackable, but also affordable and neither flammable nor explosive. Limited-production cars with solid-state batteries could potentially be ready between 2025 and 2028.