# In Pursuit of the Perfect Air Battery



## Coley (Jul 26, 2007)

As I put in a thread a while back, the aluminum/air battery has a long record of "facts" about how it will perform as well as any ICE with a full tank of gas.

BUT, and it is a big one, go to GOOGLE and put in "aluminum battery".

Check out the 700 websites that say they have the technology.

Then try to find a pricture of an actual battery.....not easy.

It is said that large phone companies have/had these type batteries, but in a large format and dry charged type. When the power was to be out for day/weeks, they would install the electrolyte and the AL/AIR battery would run the company until the mains came back on.

I have been running an AL/AIR battery in my shop for 2 weeks with salt water as an electrolyte. it has put out steady, but low power.

I used salt water as the military used to use these in subs and ships and they used easily obtained salt water.

I wish Toyota luck.....

I was told here, not to waste my time on a project like this......


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## MarxNutz (Apr 5, 2008)

Coley,
How much voltage were you getting out of your homemade AL/Air battery? I've heard of this technology before myself, it was referred to as a 'source battery' because it produced electricity rather than stored it. My brother told me that the concept was quite simple: The oxidation of the metal by the electrolyte creates an electric current. You could supposedly reclaim almost all of the dissolved metal after draining the electrolyte from the battery. I'm curious about the use of different electrolytes to find the ideal for one's voltage and amperage needs.


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## xrotaryguy (Jul 26, 2007)

I am not well versed in the benefits and drawbacks of this type of battery, but I will say this. This type of battery isn't really part of the picture when it comes to the near-term adoption of EVs and PHEVs. We already have sufficient battery technology. All we lack at this point is the production capacity to drive the price down. 

I am a little leery of this author's credibility. Maybe I'm overreacting, but statements like this one...


> Current nickel-metal-hydrogen batteries and even the next generation of lithium-ion batteries are seen to be holding back the mass adoption of electric cars, as they can't hold enough charge for many users' needs.


... make me wonder if he knows what he's talking about. What the heck is a Ni m H battery? Obviously he's talking about Nimh, but this is a published article and that is not an acceptable mistake in my opinion. 

In the very next sentence he basically says that next-generation Li ion batteries aren't good enough. Ahem... _Current-generation_ Li ion batteries are the ones that finally made the EVs potentially practical. They are definitely good enough. Never mind the next generation.

That's not to say that there isn't room for improvement, and I heartily agree with continued research of many different types of electricity-based energy storage, but the focus right now needs to be getting EVs with current battery tech into mass production. I hope that battery technology like this doesn't distract the wrong people from that goal.


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## Coley (Jul 26, 2007)

I made a small version of the battery in a glass jar. It gave out .5 volts and 8 MA of power.

I then got a large rubber battery box and put large aluminum plates in and I still only get the same .5 and 8ma.

From what I can gather so far, it is the electrolyte that makes the amps.

Hydrogen peroxide is supposed to be a good one, but the best concentration I can find is 35% @ $80.00 a gal. The .03% doesn't do much.

Still, it has been giving off the same results for over 2 weeks.

Yes, they are a source battery, as they come to full power when the electrolyte is added or the aluminum anode is changed.


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## hjesu (Dec 28, 2009)




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## watergroove (Jun 24, 2010)

The pile is neat. What I have seen using salt water is the current limitation. So how about a minimum size to get that current definition and then parralleling piles. If it is 1" dia not too bad considering. The basis of the argument that other battery technologies hamper the e-car revolution has merit. Air AL batteries are 10x minimum in energy density compared to the other best technologies, thereby putting this battery on par with the internal combustion engine. The only issue is the amount of CO2 that is emitted when aluminum is made. But it will be made regardless unless this battery takes off and everybody has one. The debate still rages.


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