This is a very early lab result, loooot can still go wrong from here. However 40k cycles is pretty awesome (side note: "everlasting" is an annoying headline writer hack statement)
Key point: this is not for electric cars, this is for grid storage...
"Much recent research on batteries, including other work done by Cui’s research group, has focused on lithium-ion batteries, which have a high energy density; however, energy density really doesn’t matter for storage on the power grid. Cost is a greater concern."
"We decided we needed to develop a new chemistry if we were going to make low-cost batteries and battery electrodes for the power grid."
> Key point: this is not for electric cars, this is for grid storage...
Yes - and your link is much better on this. The first article seems quite off with insinuations such as 'could the days of the humble lithium ion battery be numbered'... As far as I know one of the main advantages of lithium-ion is their light weight - hence their use in weight-critical devices (phones, cars, etc.). I didn't see anything in either of these links mentioning weight, but I assume a potassium based battery is likely to be much heavier than a lithium-based battery...
Plus it is annoying to hear the Li-Ion chemistry described as "humble". It is more of a stuck up diva. Charge over 90%? Rapid degradation. Discharge under 10%? Rapid degradation. Operate at room temperature? Rapid degradation. Even if you keep the battery at 50% charge inside a fridge it will still rot apart in three years. And this is not even mentioning the extremely fickle charge controllers that can make the cells catch fire. Li-ion batteries also have horrible energy volume (MJ/L) and have been central to planned obsolescence in consumer electronics.
This is a very early lab result, loooot can still go wrong from here. However 40k cycles is pretty awesome (side note: "everlasting" is an annoying headline writer hack statement)
Key point: this is not for electric cars, this is for grid storage...
"Much recent research on batteries, including other work done by Cui’s research group, has focused on lithium-ion batteries, which have a high energy density; however, energy density really doesn’t matter for storage on the power grid. Cost is a greater concern."
"We decided we needed to develop a new chemistry if we were going to make low-cost batteries and battery electrodes for the power grid."
—Colin Wessells