IBM and Daimler Teaming up for a Quantum Leap in Battery Tech
(CNET) IBM announced that it has partnered with Daimler to leverage its considerable resources and research into quantum computing to make lithium-sulfur batteries a viable replacement for lithium-ion cells.
The next meaningful jump forward in EVs will come on the energy storage side of things, and many companies are banking on that jump being in the form of solid-state batteries. In theory, solid state batteries will be lighter and more compact, more energy-dense and faster charging. Oh, and they’ll likely be safer too with less of a possibility of a dangerous thermal runaway like lithium-ion.
The most promising of these new quantum computer-assisted potential battery chemistries — according to IBM and Daimler, of course — is lithium-sulfur. According to the research, lithium-sulfur batteries would be more powerful, longer-lasting and cheaper (the battery holy trinity) than today’s lithium-ion cells.
The quantum computers from IBM have modeled the behavior of three different lithium-containing molecules. This, in turn, allows researchers to better understand how they will affect the energy storage and discharge properties that manufacturers are looking for in batteries. Specifically, simulating these molecules will enable scientists to find their “ground state” or most stable configuration.