New potassium-ion battery technology could soon replace lithium-ion

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Skye Jacobs

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Why it matters: Battery technology has taken a leap forward with the recent introduction of the world's first 18650 Potassium-ion battery – a sustainable and cost-effective alternative to traditional lithium-ion batteries. The tech boasts impressive longevity and energy density, making it suitable for demanding applications. It is production-ready and is currently being distributed to OEMs, which means we may see it in action very soon.

Texas-based startup Group1 has unveiled the world's first Potassium-ion battery (KIB) in the industry-standard 18650 cylindrical form factor. This groundbreaking innovation marks a significant milestone in the quest for sustainable and cost-effective alternatives to traditional lithium-ion batteries.

At the heart of this new technology are readily available potassium ions that act as charge carriers. The KIB batteries are free from critical minerals such as nickel, cobalt, copper, and lithium, addressing supply chain concerns and reducing the ecological impact of battery production. Instead, it utilizes commonly available components, including graphite anodes, separators, and electrolyte formulations.

One of the main advantages of Group1's KIB technology is its compatibility with existing lithium-ion battery manufacturing processes. This similarity allows for rapid adoption without costly retooling or extensive redesigns, making it an attractive option for manufacturers transitioning to more sustainable approaches.

The battery's unveiling at the 14th annual Beyond Lithium Conference showcased its evolution from coin-cell to pouch-cell and finally to the 18650 format. Central to this innovation is Group1's proprietary Kristonite, a 4V cathode material in the Potassium Prussian White (KPW) class. The company asserts that this technology outperforms LiFePO4 (LFP) lithium-ion batteries and Sodium-ion batteries (NIBs) in terms of performance, safety, and cost-effectiveness.

Operating at a nominal voltage of 3.7V, the KIB is on track to achieve a gravimetric energy density of 160-180 Wh/kg, matching the capabilities of LFP-LIB batteries. This breakthrough opens new possibilities for high-performance applications, from portable electronics to electric vehicles.

The KIB's potential impact on the electric vehicle industry is particularly noteworthy. Its ability to withstand numerous charging and discharging cycles before experiencing significant capacity loss translates to longer-lasting batteries in EVs. This extended lifespan could lead to less frequent battery replacements, potentially reducing the total cost of ownership for EV users over time. Moreover, the battery's consistent capacity over many cycles addresses a key concern among EV owners: the gradual decrease in driving range as batteries age.

The stage is already set for the potential widespread adoption as Group1 begins distributing samples to Tier 1 OEMs and cell manufacturers.

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New potassium-ion battery technology could soon replace lithium-ion

 
Sodium is mass-produced by multiple companies and has been gaining traction for almost a year, but is still used to a limited extent.

Therefore, these allegations are highly dubious.
 
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I like the graphic representation , not sure how accurate, interesting safety is similar to lithium, one of peoples big concerns other than range for their EV
 
kiwigraeme said:
I like the graphic representation , not sure how accurate, interesting safety is similar to lithium, one of peoples big concerns other than range for their EV
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Whoops - similar to Sodium , better than lithium , had to rush out , so sloppy on my part
 
NotYourITguy said:
Tesla is at around 300Wh/kg density on lithium cells. These are half of that in theory in a lab. There's a long way to go here.
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remind us what size cell do Tesla use in their battery packs pretty sure it's no longer 18650 is it which is what the story was saying are 160~180 WH/Kg
 
p51d007 said:
Another day another "revolutionary" new battery technology.
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Given all the money being thrown at R&D, that's not shocking. The issue has always been *production*; Lithiums been around forever so the production costs are far lower.
 
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p51d007 said:
Another day another "revolutionary" new battery technology.
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Except they started working on both sodium ion and potassium ion batteries ~20 years ago. So not new at all, just they have now worked out a lot of the huge issues they once faced.
 
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Every 6 months for literally my entire life there has been reports of a "revolutionary new battery technology". In 30+ years those stories have been true exactly twice: LiFePO4 and Li-ion. Everything else has been an innovation within that same basic family of chemistries. We get promised new batteries more often than we're told that a "first of it's kind device harvests water from the air" will magically suddenly be effective in places where the air has essentially no water.... using the same technology that essentially dates back to the Incan Empire. It's a classic cycle of yellow journalism.

But here's why acting like Potassium batteries are some miracle of science is particularly ridiculous: potassium batteries already existed. They were a stepping stone to lithium that never left the prototype stage, because it was discovered immediately that lithium did more or less the same thing as Potassium, except better in every way. It held more energy, was lighter, cheaper, easier to produce, and needed less materials.
Almost everybody has seen this with our own eyes in high school chemistry. The teacher drops sodium, potassium, and lithium in water, and we all see how much more energetically lithium reacts.
Of all the materials we could reasonably use in a battery even remotely similar to what we have, lithium has been proven to be the best, repeatedly, for decades. What we currently have is near the physical limits of what we think is theoretically possible for stable, rechargeable energy storage regardless of the chemistry used.
The next major innovation in electric storage is either going to be so radically different that it wouldn't be considered a battery in the way we currently define what a battery is... Or it's going to be barred from civilian use, as the chemistry would double as a high explosive.
So in other words, give up. it's never going to happen.
 
kiwigraeme said:
I like the graphic representation , not sure how accurate, interesting safety is similar to lithium, one of peoples big concerns other than range for their EV
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I liked the graphic as well. It showed far more info than the rest of the article. Shame it showed Sodium batteries rather than LFP as no-one uses Sodium and these new batteries seem a direct competitor to LFP. Perhaps this sort of graphic could be shown when any new EV battery is being reported on?
 
mbk34 said:
I liked the graphic as well. It showed far more info than the rest of the article.
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A spider graph was chosen as it allows them to mislead without formally lying: the area-based approach gives more weight than warranted to factors like low-temperature performance and "value chain disruption' (whatever that means). Energy density and cost -- that's what counts for economic viability.

And, as other posters have already noted, their claims on energy density are sketchy at best.
 
Endymio said:
A spider graph was chosen as it allows them to mislead without formally lying: the area-based approach gives more weight than warranted to factors like low-temperature performance and "value chain disruption' (whatever that means). Energy density and cost -- that's what counts for economic viability.

And, as other posters have already noted, their claims on energy density are sketchy at best.
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I think not showing LFP was even more telling but I'm an optimist at heart.
 
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Endymio said:
A spider graph was chosen as it allows them to mislead without formally lying: the area-based approach gives more weight than warranted to factors like low-temperature performance and "value chain disruption' (whatever that means). Energy density and cost -- that's what counts for economic viability.

And, as other posters have already noted, their claims on energy density are sketchy at best.
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In my comment - I qualified whether it was accurate , as assumed it was just their graph.
But saying formally lying is weird. Show me one companies promo that is not cherry picked, or has * and ** that.

This graph is still best for simple graphics, does it show std deviation no, does it show lows - no. Does it show the best lipo probably not
As for what metric is important, you can do yourself, so it's not imposing its's own subjective scale.
That's why people saying this car got rated at 9.7 and that one rated at 9.6 - is meaningless to me when it's a subjection pro-rata of scores . The individual scores on each area are more important to see what is important for you.
Anyway we are not the buyers, I'm sure the big boys will do due diligence.
Plus it seems they are implying that we should know it the real deal soon enough.

I also assume these graphics will be always moving for all these techs going forward

What us liking it is , normally we get an article quoting a few areas a battery will be great in , but say nothing of other very necessary attributes
 
kiwigraeme said:
In my comment - I qualified whether it was accurate...
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Sure; for once, my post was in no way critical of yours.

kiwigraeme said:
...as assumed it was just their graph. But saying formally lying is weird. This graph is still best for simple graphics
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I said *without* formally lying. And spider graphs are *not* the best choice here -- they are appropriate only when the enclosed area is significant. In this case, they're trying to mislead -- without actually claiming such -- that the "bigger area wins".
 
Endymio said:
Sure; for once, my post was in no way critical of yours.


I said *without* formally lying. And spider graphs are *not* the best choice here -- they are appropriate only when the enclosed area is significant. In this case, they're trying to mislead -- without actually claiming such -- that the "bigger area wins".
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Nah I realise not targeted . But least the graph shows some of the important factors.

It's like world 2D maps , there is no perfect map design as of yet

The other point I took from the this graph is that is that it has viability. Too many times we read about some tech fantastic in 2 metrics but on closer inspection is moot, as fails on some critical ones .

Again if viable should be easy to raise capital or investment or be taken over.

The story about some other battery a few days ago, showed potential as mentioned was it 3 other companies developing their own solutions - from memory Samsung, LG , maybe a Japanese company and unnamed Chinese companies

These companies are going to say a wide range of final products.

If they lead in certain metrics and do ok in others , and easy to produce for not much outlay - there should be a end use , even if just big massive stationary batteries . Or a solution to move energy from generation point to end users where high voltages lines are a poor choice - however seems energy to chemical , chemical to energy is maybe better for certain bulk cases.
 
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I would imagine these batteries are far more dangerous than lithium batteries given how reactive metallic potassium is.
 
Why "18650" instead of "1865"?
UFpp0epv_o.jpg
 
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Endymio said:
And spider graphs are *not* the best choice here
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What would of been a better choice?

I actually found the graph useful as it provided an instant way of seeing the pros and cons of the new tech. It's a shame there isn't a web site that allows you to tick which battery types you want to compare and then it creates a graph for you. This would be even more interesting with grid scale batteries.
 
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