E-MAGIC paves the way for the use of Magnesium in batteries as an alternative to Lithium

The project led by CIDETEC Energy Storage has published an article in the third most influential energy journal in the field of energy, Energy & Environmental Science, demonstrating the viability and potential of Mg-based batteries.

Lithium ion batteries (LIB) are the standard battery technology for many current and emergent applications, such as transport electrification or renewable energy storage. However, supply issues are anticipated for LIBs due to the low natural abundance of lithium (Li) and its irregular distribution across the globe. The E-MAGIC project, financed within the FETPROACT-01-2018 call, was created to find an alternative to Lithium ion batteries, by analysing the potential of magnesium as the battery's central element. The potential of using metallic magnesium anodes in rechargeable batteries offers a priori important advantages in terms of energy density, cost, safety, sustainability and reduced risk in supply problems of the raw materials used, owing to the natural abundance and better global distribution of Mg.

The E-MAGIC project team, made up of leading centres and universities in Europe and Israel in the development of new battery systems, has just published the article “A practical perspective on the potential of rechargeable Mg batteries”. The research shows for the first time a pre-industrial battery prototype with a practical capacity close to 500 mAh and high reversibility (> 200 charge/discharge cycles), demonstrating the viability of this technology. In addition, a roadmap is established for the development and implementation of new materials that enable a significant improvement in the system's performance, particularly its energy density. The analysis of the impact of the most promising materials developed within the project at the laboratory cell level, enables an energy density of more than 160 Wh kg^-1 to be predicted, comparable to conventional lithium ion batteries.