An electric car that can drive much further and therefore needs to be charged less often. Or a mobile phone that is still not empty after a hard day’s work. With a new generation of batteries, this should be possible in a few years without any problems. The invention of a company in Broek op Langedijk leads to a breakthrough in energy storage.
Axel Schönecker conducted research into solar panels for what was then ECN in Petten, in particular into the effect of silicon. This material converts sunlight into energy in solar panels. But Alex discovered that silicon is also very good at storing energy. And with that he laid the foundation for the application of silicon for batteries and accumulators.
Ten years later, Axel has reached the point where his invention can be used on a large scale for the manufacture of a new generation of batteries. They are still the same popular lithium-ion batteries, but not made on the basis of graphite, but of silicon. As a result, batteries can store 40 to 60 percent more energy.
It all sounds simple, and then you wonder why it took so long before this invention can be applied. As so often, there was a catch. In this case even a very large adder. When silicon stores energy, it expands. Applied in a battery means that a charged battery is larger than an empty one.
In practice, that would mean that the battery breaks down, and that is of no use to us. To prevent this expansion and contraction, Axel has devised that the silicon, comparable to a grain of sand, must be made porous. And that happens in the industrial hall in Broek op Langedijk. There is a huge device that makes tiny holes in the silicon.
“You can compare the silicon we process with a sponge that absorbs and releases energy”
Director Casper Peeters compares the processed and therefore porous silicon to a sponge: “The material is able to absorb a lot of lithium ions”. Much more than the graphite used so far. This makes it possible to make batteries and accumulators that can store much more energy.
Electric cars, which are equipped with the new generation of batteries, can therefore drive many more kilometers on a full battery. In addition, you can also make electric cars that are much lighter and cheaper, making small electric cars affordable for many more people.
However, we still have to be patient because it will be a few years before the new generation of batteries comes on the market. And in the meantime, work in laboratories worldwide continues as usual, because batteries will play an important role in the energy transition. Peeters expects that the capacity of batteries and accumulators will increase even further in the coming years. And our ‘Silicon Valley in the polder’ plays an important role in this.
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