Rechargeable aluminum batteries (RABs) are extremely promising due to inherent safety, high theoretical volumetric energy density (4Xof Li), and low cost of Al metal (10X cheaper than Li). RABs can play a crucial role in ensuring and securing an affordable and safer EU energy supply in line with the EU Green Deal. However, the development of RABs is hindered by a lack of practical electrolytes. The current state-of-the-art (SoA) ionic-liquid electrolytes are extremely corrosive, moisture sensitive, expensive, and do not offer Al3+- cationic species. The NC-PEPA project introduces an innovative and beyond the SoA concept to develop a non-corrosive polymer electrolyte with preferential Al3+ cationic transport with high ionic conductivity.
The NC-PEPA project had three main objectives, namely:
1. To develop a non-corrosive polymer electrolyte with preferential Al3+ transport with Al cationic transport number (tAl3+) > 0.4;
2. To achieve high ionic conductivity 10-5-10-3 S/cm at room temperature;
3. To achieve reversible plating/stripping and insertion/extraction of Al3+ cations.