World’s First Rechargeable Hydride Ion Battery

 World’s first rechargeable Hydride Ion Battery developed by China for clean energy storage 

Chinese researchers have moved hydride ion batteries from concept to reality with a working solid-state prototype. The first negative hydrogen ion prototype battery successfully developed by the Chinese scientific team. Chinese scientists have paved the way for the country’s green development after successfully designing the world’s first working hydride ion battery, thus opening new possibilities for future energy storage. Hydride ions (H⁻) have drawn interest as potential charge carriers for future electrochemical devices because of their extremely low mass and high redox potential. Yet, progress has been limited since no electrolyte has been able to provide the combination of rapid ion movement, thermal stability and compatibility with electrodes which such systems require.

A recent study in Nature reports a breakthrough from Prof. Ping Chen and his team at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP), part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). The researchers created a new type of core–shell hydride ion electrolyte and successfully assembled the first prototype of a rechargeable hydride ion battery. “Using hydrogen as charge carriers can avoid the formation of detrimental metal dendrites, in principle, which creates new research avenues for clean energy storage and conversion,” the researchers said. Hydride ions (H⁻) are considered promising charge carriers for next-generation electrochemical devices because of their low mass and high redox potential. Nevertheless, the lack of efficient electrolytes with fast hydride ion conductivity, thermal stability and electrode compatibility hinders their practical applications. To tackle the issue, the team, led by Ping Chen, PhD, a professor and division head of hydrogen energy and advanced materials at DICP, developed the novel core-shell ion electrolyte.

The Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) research team, part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, created an all-solid-state prototype using sodium aluminum hydride (NaAlH4). They reportedly used the inorganic solid compound as the positive electrode and hydrogen-poor cerium dihydride as the negative electrode. Both are hydrogen storage materials which are commonly used for energy applications. Using a heterojunction-inspired design, researchers synthesized a novel core–shell composite hydride, 3CeH3@BaH2, where a thin BaH2 shell encapsulates CeH3. This structure leverages the high hydride ion conductivity of CeH3 and the stability of BaH2, enabling fast hydride ion conduction at room temperature along with high thermal and electrochemical stability. A core-shell structured hydride ion electrolyte and a sandwich structured all-solid-state hydride ion prototype battery. The structure leverages the high hydride ion conductivity of CeH3 and the stability of BaH2. It enables fast hydride ion conduction at room temperature along with high thermal and electrochemical stability. “Here we developed a core-shell hydride 3CeH3@BaH2, which exhibits fast H- conduction at ambient temperature and becomes a superionic conductor above 60 degrees Celsius,” the team stated. They utilized it to construct CeH2|3CeH3@BaH2|NaAlH4, the first rechargeable hydride ion prototype battery.

Furthermore, researchers constructed a CeH2|3CeH3@BaH2|NaAlH4 all-solid-state hydride ion prototype battery using NaAlH4, a classical hydrogen storage material, as the cathode active component. The positive electrode of the battery delivered an initial discharge capacity of 984 mAh/g at room temperature and retained 402 mAh/g after 20 cycles. The scientists claimed that the novel design allows for efficient hydride ion conduction at room temperature. It also resolves a long-standing bottleneck which kept the technology theoretical for years. They confirmed that the innovation’s operating voltage reached 1.9 volts (V) in a stacked configuration. It powered a yellow light-emitting diode lamp, which was a compelling example for practical applications.

As per the team, the pioneering solution marks a massive step forward in making the first hydride ion prototype battery, moving the technology from a theoretical concept to experimental proof of its feasibility. “By adopting hydrogen as the charge carrier, this technology avoided dendrite formation, paving the way for safe, efficient and sustainable energy storage,” the researchers concluded. By adopting hydrogen as the charge carrier, this technology avoided dendrite formation, paving the way for safe, efficient and sustainable energy storage. With the tunable properties of hydride-based materials, hydride ion batteries hold immense potential for clean energy storage and conversion. They pointed out that hydride ion batteries offer strong potential for clean energy storage and conversion due to the tunable properties of hydride-based materials. The technology is expected to play a great role in large-scale storage systems, hydrogen storage, portable and mobile power sources, and specialized energy applications.