University of Waterloo researchers have made a key breakthrough in developing next-generation batteries made of magnesium instead of lithium.

When the idea to create batteries using magnesium was first shared in a seminal academic paper in 2000, the novel design didn’t provide enough voltage to compete with lithium-ion batteries.

However, magnesium is much more abundant and cheaper than lithium, which would help further sustainable energy storage, and the Waterloo team is one step closer to making such batteries a reality.

Linda Nazar, a professor in the department of chemistry and the Canada research chair in solid state energy materials at Waterloo University, and Chang Li, a postdoctoral fellow in the Nazar Group, have designed an electrolyte that enables a highly efficient magnesium anode. Li and Nazar collaborated with UC Berkeley and Sandia National Labs for this research.

Initial research on magnesium-based batteries generated 1 V, less than what a standard AA battery operates at (1.5 V). The electrolyte devised by Li and Nazar operates at up to 3 V, with additional improvement expected to come with an even better cathode design.

“The electrolyte we developed allows us to deposit magnesium foils with extremely high efficiency and it is stable to a higher voltage than successfully tested before,” said Li. “All we need now is the right cathode to bring it all together.”

Li and Nazar’s electrolyte design could be scaled up quickly. It is non-corrosive and non-flammable, which were both problems with previous electrolyte iterations.

“This is another big step on the road towards commercialising a functional magnesium battery,” said Nazar.

Their research, ‘A Dynamically Bare Metal Interface Enables Reversible Magnesium Electrodeposition at 50 mAh cm-2’, was published in Joule on December 6.