{"682706":{"#nid":"682706","#data":{"type":"news","title":"A New Metal Design for Solid-State Batteries","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ELithium-ion batteries power everything from electric cars to laptops to leaf blowers. Despite their widespread adoption, lithium-ion batteries carry limited amounts of energy, and rare overheating can lead to safety concerns. Consequently, for decades, researchers have sought a more reliable battery.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESolid-state batteries are less flammable and can hold more energy, but they often require intense pressure to function. This requirement has made them difficult to use in applications, but new research from Georgia Tech could change that.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe research group of \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.mse.gatech.edu\/people\/matthew-mcdowell\u0022\u003EMatthew McDowell,\u003C\/a\u003E professor and Carter N. Paden Jr. Distinguished Chair in the George W.\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EWoodruff School of Mechanical Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E and the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.mse.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Materials Science and Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E, has designed a new metal for solid-state batteries that enables operation at lower pressures. While lithium metal is often used in these batteries, McDowell\u2019s group discovered that combining lithium with softer sodium metal results in improved performance and novel behavior.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMcDowell and his collaborators presented their findings in the paper, \u201c\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.science.org\/doi\/10.1126\/science.adt5229\u0022\u003EInterface Morphogenesis with a Deformable Secondary Phase in Solid-State Lithium Batteries\u003C\/a\u003E,\u201d\u003Cstrong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003Epublished in \u003Cem\u003EScience\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003Eon June 5.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EStackable Solution\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELithium-ion batteries have been the industry standard because they combine compact size, reliability, and longevity. However, they contain a liquid \u201celectrolyte,\u201d which helps lithium ions move in the battery but is also flammable. In solid-state batteries, this electrolyte is a solid material that is less flammable. The challenge is that when the battery is used, the lithium metal in the battery changes its shape, potentially losing contact with the solid electrolyte, which degrades performance. A common way to ensure the metal doesn\u2019t lose contact is to apply high pressure to these batteries.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cA solid-state battery usually requires metal plates to apply this high pressure, and those plates can be bigger than the battery itself,\u201d McDowell said. \u201cThis makes the battery too heavy and bulky to be effective.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers, led by Georgia Tech research scientist Sun Geun Yoon, sought a solution. The solid-state batteries would still require some pressure to function, but they found that by also using a softer metal, less pressure is required. The researchers decided to pair the commonly used lithium metal with a surprising element: sodium.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAdding sodium metal is the breakthrough,\u201d McDowell noted. \u201cIt seems counterintuitive because sodium is not active in the battery system, but it\u2019s very soft, which helps improve the performance of the lithium.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHow soft can sodium be? In a controlled environment, a person could stick their gloved finger into sodium metal and leave an imprint.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFrom Biology to Battery\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo understand the enhanced performance of their battery, the researchers borrowed a concept from biology called morphogenesis. This concept explains how tissues or other biological structures evolve based on local stimuli. Morphogenesis is rarely seen in materials science, but the researchers found that the combination of lithium and sodium behaves according to this concept.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMcDowell\u2019s research group has been working on applying morphogenesis to battery materials as part of a project funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in collaboration with several other universities. Their battery is among the first viable demonstrations of this concept \u2014 effectively, the sodium deforms readily at the low pressures needed for solid-state batteries to function.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBattery Boon\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe possibilities of a viable, smaller solid-state battery are vast. Imagine a phone battery that could last much longer or an electric vehicle that could drive 500 miles between charges. With this in mind, McDowell and his team have filed for a patent for this battery system.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile solid-state batteries still have some way to go before commercial use, results like these could mean that solid-state batteries can compete with lithium-ion. McDowell\u2019s lab continues to experiment with other materials to further improve performance.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EFunding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe research group of \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.mse.gatech.edu\/people\/matthew-mcdowell\u0022\u003EMatthew McDowell,\u003C\/a\u003E professor and Carter N. Paden Jr. Distinguished Chair in the George W.\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EWoodruff School of Mechanical Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E and the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.mse.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Materials Science and Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E, has designed a new metal for solid-state batteries that enables operation at lower pressures. While lithium metal is often used in these batteries, McDowell\u2019s group discovered that combining lithium with softer sodium metal results in improved performance and novel behavior.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The solid-state battery would be game-changing for electric vehicles. "}],"uid":"34541","created_gmt":"2025-06-05 17:59:59","changed_gmt":"2025-06-26 16:38:32","author":"Tess Malone","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2025-06-05T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2025-06-05T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"677198":{"id":"677198","type":"image","title":"Solid-State-Battery_052925-5.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003ESun Geun Yoon works in a glove box in McDowell\u2019s laboratory at Georgia Tech. [Photo by Christopher McKenney]\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1749146467","gmt_created":"2025-06-05 18:01:07","changed":"1749146467","gmt_changed":"2025-06-05 18:01:07","alt":"Sun Geun Yoon works in a glove box in McDowell\u2019s laboratory at Georgia Tech.","file":{"fid":"261072","name":"Solid-State-Battery_052925-5.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/06\/05\/Solid-State-Battery_052925-5.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/06\/05\/Solid-State-Battery_052925-5.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":5489701,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/06\/05\/Solid-State-Battery_052925-5.jpg?itok=srx1rIlo"}}},"media_ids":["677198"],"groups":[{"id":"660369","name":"Matter and Systems"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"},{"id":"186858","name":"go-sei"},{"id":"188360","name":"go-bbiss"},{"id":"187433","name":"go-ien"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"193652","name":"Matter and Systems"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETess Malone, Senior Research Writer\/Editor\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003Etess.malone@gatech.edu\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}