Lithium-ion batteries power almost everything today from smartphones to electric cars. However, as demand rises, so do concerns about cost, limited supply, and environmental damage caused by mining.&nbsp;According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), demand for lithium is expected to grow by over 400 per cent by 2030. This has pushed researchers to search for alternative materials that are more sustainable and easier to produce.&nbsp;Now, a team at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) has developed an artificial intelligence framework that may hold the answer. Their study, published in Cell Reports Physical Science, reveals five new materials that could eventually replace lithium in future batteries.&nbsp;<h2>How AI Found These New Materials</h2>Traditional research on battery chemistry is slow and expensive. Scientists usually test one material at a time, which can take years.&nbsp;The NJIT team created an AI tool that can scan and analyse massive databases of chemical compounds. According to the report, this AI is able to identify potential candidates 100 times faster than conventional lab testing.&nbsp;Lead author Professor Arun Kumar explained that the AI looks for materials with high energy storage potential, stability, and low environmental impact. Using this method, it flagged five promising options that had never been considered before.&nbsp;The researchers believe these new materials could work in sodium-based or potassium-based batteries, both of which are cheaper and more widely available than lithium.&nbsp;<h2>What This Means for the Future</h2>If these materials are proven effective, they could change the battery industry entirely. Sodium and potassium are far more abundant than lithium, which means cheaper and more sustainable batteries.&nbsp;Professor Kumar said in the NJIT press release that this approach “opens a new path for energy storage research,” combining AI’s speed with human expertise to find solutions faster.&nbsp;Experts note that while more testing is needed, this discovery could help reduce global dependence on lithium and support the growth of electric vehicles and renewable energy storage.&nbsp;The research highlights how AI is becoming a powerful tool for solving some of the world’s most urgent technological challenges.

AI researchers at NJIT discovered five new materials that could replace lithium in batteries. These alternatives, based on sodium and potassium, are cheaper, more sustainable energy storage, addressing lithium’s cost, supply, and environmental issues for the future of electric vehicles.

Lithium-ion batteries power almost everything today from smartphones to electric cars. However, as demand rises, so do concerns about cost, limited supply, and environmental damage caused by mining. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), demand for lithium is expected to grow by over 400 per cent by 2030. This has pushed researchers to search for alternative materials that are more sustainable and easier to produce. Now, a team at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) has developed an artificial intelligence framework that may hold the answer. Their study, published in Cell Reports Physical Science, reveals five new materials that could eventually replace lithium in future batteries. How AI Found These New Materials Traditional research on battery chemistry is slow and expensive. Scientists usually test one material at a time, which can take years. The NJIT team created an AI tool that can scan and analyse massive databases of chemical compounds. According to the report, this AI is able to identify potential candidates 100 times faster than conventional lab testing. Lead author Professor Arun Kumar explained that the AI looks for materials with high energy storage potential, stability, and low environmental impact. Using this method, it flagged five promising options that had never been considered before. The researchers believe these new materials could work in sodium-based or potassium-based batteries, both of which are cheaper and more widely available than lithium. What This Means for the Future If these materials are proven effective, they could change the battery industry entirely. Sodium and potassium are far more abundant than lithium, which means cheaper and more sustainable batteries. Professor Kumar said in the NJIT press release that this approach “opens a new path for energy storage research,” combining AI’s speed with human expertise to find solutions faster. Experts note that while more testing is needed, this discovery could help reduce global dependence on lithium and support the growth of electric vehicles and renewable energy storage. The research highlights how AI is becoming a powerful tool for solving some of the world’s most urgent technological challenges.

AI researchers at NJIT discovered five new materials that could replace lithium in batteries. These alternatives, based on sodium and potassium, are cheaper, more sustainable energy storage, addressing lithium’s cost, supply, and environmental issues for the future of electric vehicles.

AI could end the world’s dependence on Lithium - Here’s how

Researchers have reportedly developed an iron-based cathode material which can pave the way for making cheaper, safer, and more sustainable batteries. The new material will end the need to use expensive and scarce metals such as cobalt and nickel, leading to the manufacturing of electric vehicles (EVs) at cheaper rates.

Researchers have reportedly developed an iron-based cathode material which can pave the way for making cheaper, safer, and more sustainable batteries. The new material will end the need to use expensive and scarce metals such as cobalt and nickel, leading to the manufacturing of electric vehicles (EVs) at cheaper rates. Oregon State University chemistry researcher Xiulei “David” Ji explained how they transformed the reactivity of iron metal to achieve exciting results. “Our electrode can offer a higher energy density than the state-of-the-art cathode materials in electric vehicles. And since we use iron, whose cost can be less than a dollar per kilogramme – a small fraction of nickel and cobalt, which are indispensable in current high-energy lithium-ion batteries – the cost of our batteries is potentially much lower,” he was quoted as saying by a science website 'Interesting Engineering'. The researcher added that the use of scarce metals contributes up to 50 per cent to the production cost of lithium-ion battery cells. He also warned that the overexploitation of these metals may even cause a shortage and the ensuing collapse of nickel and cobalt-based battery manufacturing. On the other hand, iron is the most common element on Earth as measured by mass, the researcher adds. “We will not run out of iron till the sun turns into a red giant,” he says. Also read: Nio joins forces with FAW to supercharge battery swapping network Scientists mixed special chemicals with iron powder, lithium fluoride, and lithium phosphate to create iron salts that can change back and forth. This way, they could use iron in the battery without needing to change other parts of how batteries are made. “We’ve demonstrated that the materials designed with anions can break the ceiling of energy density for batteries that are more sustainable and cost less,” Ji explained. “We’re not using some more expensive salt in conjunction with iron – just those the battery industry has been using and then iron powder," he added. Also read : Scientists develop sodium battery that can be charged in seconds “To put this new cathode in applications, one needs to change nothing else – no new anodes, no new production lines, no new design of the battery. We are just replacing one thing, the cathode,” added Ji. (With inputs from agencies)

Scientists use iron to develop cheaper, safer, sustainable lithium-ion batteries

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AI could end the world’s dependence on Lithium - Here’s how

Scientists use iron to develop cheaper, safer, sustainable lithium-ion batteries