Zinc-Ion Batteries: Long Cycle Life, Scalable, Safe, Suppliable, Low Cost, and Can Replace Lithium in Stationary Storage

     Zinc-ion rechargeable batteries, also known as ZIBs, use zinc ions as the charge carrier. In ZIBs Zn is used as the anode, Zn-intercalating materials as the cathode, and a Zn-containing electrolyte is also used. In addition to zinc-ion batteries zinc-halide batteries are being developed for energy storage. Wikipedia notes:

“Both aqueous and non-aqueous electrolytes are being investigated as candidates for ZIBs. Zinc salts using the TFSI or triflate anions have been considered for both aqueous and non-aqueous electrolytes. Zinc sulfate and alkaline KOH-based aqueous electrolytes have also been considered.”

     Several cathode materials have been explored for ZIBs, including “gamma-, delta-type MnO2, copper hexacyanoferrate, bismuth oxide, layer sulfides and Prussian blue analogues.” Manganese oxides remain the best choice for cathodic material.

     For the past five years or so zinc-io batteries have been considered to be one of the main contenders to replace lithium-ion batteries in many applications. New discoveries are aiding that ability significantly and commercialization is on the near horizon.

     Lithium-ion batteries have many advantages. Lithium’s position on the periodic table of elements ensures its position in terms of low-atomic weight which transfers to lower battery weight. That reflects its superior energy density. That, along with the fact that lithium is already established as the “incumbent” of energy storage, ensures that it will retain its market share. However, many energy storage applications do not require superior energy density but can be compared instead by cost. Applications like EVs must consider vehicle space and vehicle weight but battery storage in utility power systems usually does not need to consider those factors. Ryan Brown, co-founder and CEO of Salient Energy wrote in a January 2021 article in Power Magazine:

“It has become increasingly clear that any alternative to lithium-ion batteries needs to adopt standard manufacturing processes to allow for a rapid and low-cost scale-up. So far, the zinc-ion battery (Figure 1) is the only non-lithium technology that can adopt lithium-ion’s manufacturing process to make an attractive solution for renewable energy storage, particularly for its compatibility along with other advantages.”

     He is correct to point out that standardization in manufacturing is a key to improving costs and enabling scale-up. It was very advantageous for supermaterials company Lyten as they adapted a lithium-ion production facility to make lithium-sulfur battery components. He explains very well the challenges and goals of battery development and manufacturing, and how zinc-ion batteries can complement and replace some lithium-ion batteries. He notes that there is especially potential for zinc-ion batteries to replace lithium-ion batteries in stationary energy storage. There is a link to the article in the references of this post. Other important potential applications for zinc-ion batteries include their use in maritime settings, critical infrastructure, and densely populated urban areas.

     Both LIBs and ZIBs utilize intercalation where ions react at both electrodes and travel between them through an electrolyte. ZIBs use a water-based electrolyte. During discharge, metal at the anode dissolves into the electrolyte as zinc or lithium ions. Simultaneously, zinc or lithium ions are absorbed into the cathode from the electrolyte. This process is reversed during charge. Brown also writes:

“In fact, zinc-ion batteries can improve on lithium-ion manufacturing processes. Lithium’s violent reactivity with water requires many of its production steps to take place in a highly controlled atmosphere that makes the process more costly, and more complicated. As a water-based battery, zinc-ion does not have this constraint.”

“Additionally, zinc-ion batteries do not require formation cycling at the end of life. This means they can more quickly move from the manufacturing line to the customers. This ability to use lithium-ion manufacturing means that the production of zinc-ion batteries can be rapidly and inexpensively scaled-up.”

     The water-based electrolytes of ZIBs make them non-flammable compared to LIBs which are banned in some places like dense urban centers due to safety concerns. Lithium-ion fires are not that uncommon and can be difficult to extinguish.

     Brown thinks that with a cheap and readily available domestic supply for ZIBs, they could scale up quickly and as economies-of-scale arise in manufacturing, they will become cheaper than lithium-ion batteries.

     A few drawbacks of ZIBs include dendrite formation which can result in failure and corrosion. Salient Energy noted in September 2023 (via Solar Builder) that they have made significant improvements to mitigate both of those risks. They also announced that they had increased cell-level energy density by 150% which is quite an improvement. They also “developed a more stable aqueous electrolyte that prevents corrosion and limits electrolyte pH fluctuations, ensuring longer cycle-life and durability of the battery.” Salient uses domestically abundant (zinc is 100 times more abundant globally than lithium), relatively inexpensive, and readily available zinc and manganese. Another drawback of zinc batteries is that they lose more energy during charging and discharging than lithium batteries do. Some relevant information is shown below from Salient Energy's website.

 

     Solar Builder reported in May 2022 that Salient Energy:

“…formalized a partnership with Horton World Solutions (HWS), a sustainable homebuilder, which is hosting the first in-field demonstration of Salient’s zinc-ion storage system. HWS plans to include the system in over 200,000 homes.”

     The CEO of HWS joined the board of advisors for Salient Energy, noticing that the partnership was a win-win. He noted that lithium-ion home storage systems had to design extra steps for safety and that they often encountered supply shortages and other supply chain issues. ZIBs could solve both of these concerns.

     Researchers at the University of South Wales (UNSW) Sydney have also developed ways to solve the rechargeability challenges of what they call aqueous rechargeable zinc battery (AZB) technology. This includes zinc-ion batteries and zinc-halide batteries. (A company in Pittsburgh. Pennsylvania, Eos, got a $400 million loan in 2023 to expand manufacturing of their zinc-halide batteries that offer a 50-100% longer life than LIBs.) They were able to add a “very small concentration (1 volume%) of non-toxic additive molecules in the battery electrolyte” in order to prevent dendrite formation and electrode corrosion. They estimate that this could result in a 5 to 20 times increase in battery life. While ZIBs will still be prioritized where safety is a major issue, their ability to better compete with lithium-ion tech in performance means they could one day replace lithium in many applications. UNSW also notes:

“AZBs that use an aqueous salt solution electrolyte emerge as promising alternatives due to safety, raw material abundance, affordability, and competitive energy densities.”

“The use of the high-capacity metallic zinc anode gives AZBs an energy density boost, and its safe chemistry means it is potentially fully recyclable. Ambient manufacturing is another significant advantage.”

“The UNSW team continues to work on developing the zinc anode, cathode, and cell components toward developing battery cell prototypes. It is estimated that a fully developed technology would cost consumers around one-third to one-fourth the price of the present-day Li-ion systems.”

     That is a pretty amazing potential cost-benefit, although it is unclear when such a benefit could materialize.

     In September Swedish company Enerpoly opened the world’s first zinc-ion megafactory which is expected to begin production in 2025. Production is expected to reach 100MWh annually in 2026. According to a press release from the company:

In July 2024, Enerpoly expanded its manufacturing capacity by adding cutting-edge dry electrode manufacturing equipment to its megafactory.

“The end-to-end battery production line and process development capabilities will allow Enerpoly to accelerate production capabilities; lower costs, waste, and energy consumption; and deliver more sustainable energy storage solutions.”

     The aqueous zinc-ion battery (AZIB) is poised to continue to improve. Researchers at Australia’s Flinders University have developed an aqueous zinc-ion battery (AZIB) using a modified polymer. The polymer is used at the cathode. According to a September 2024 article in Interesting Engineering:

“They used a commercially available poly(methyl vinyl ether-alt-maleic anhydride) polymer, also called poly(MVE-alt-MA)) polymer. Next, they modified this polymer with 4-amino-TEMPO, to create the final product, a radical polymer known as PTEMPO.

“Our research is building conductivity using nitroxide radical polymer cathodes made from cheap commercial polymer and optimized the battery performance using low-cost additives…”

    Researchers at the Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER) have also discovered a way to solve the problem of dendrite formation in ZIBs using low-cost processes and materials like copper oxide. These improvements are helping to get ZIBs closer to the capacity retention of LIBs after a comparable number of cycles. According to a September article in Interesting Engineering:

“The research team successfully controlled zinc deposition to achieve a world-leading capacity of 60 mAh/cm². They also demonstrated the technology’s durability through extensive battery performance tests exceeding 3,000 cycles and confirmed its applicability to large-area electrodes measuring 64 cm².”

“Like regular copper, copper oxide promotes the initial growth of zinc and guides its deposition. Additionally, copper oxide has optimized conductivity for depositing zinc in a uniform distribution, allowing for more efficient deposition compared to regular copper.”

     The end result is a battery with 10 times the cycle life as previous ZIBs and a much more stable battery.

     A study published in October 2024 in Nature Communications explored zinc dendrite formation in AZIBs. The researchers identified the chemical and kinetic controls on dendrite formation and explored ways to reduce their formation. Corrosion leads to dendrite formation. They note their results of successfully decreasing dendrite formation in the abstract:

“The presence of a dense and stable SEI film is critical for inhibiting the formation and growth of Zn dendrites. By adding 50 mM lithium chloride (LiCl) as an electrolyte additive, we successfully construct a dense and stable SEI film composed of Li2S2O7 and Li2CO3, which significantly improves cycling performance. Moreover, the symmetric cell achieves a prolonged cycle life of up to 3900 h with the incorporation of 5% 12-crown-4 additives. This work offers a strategy for in-situ observation and analysis of Zn dendrite formation mechanisms and provides an effective approach for designing high-performance Zn-ion batteries.”

     They found that hydrogen gas disrupts the stability of the SEI film and promotes the formation of zinc oxide (ZnO)/zinc sulfate hydroxide hydrate (ZSH), fostering the growth of Zn dendrite. Thus, zinc oxide is a chemical byproduct that leads to corrosion and dendrite formation. Thus, the goal became to limit the chemical formation of zinc oxide. The resultant decrease in dendrite abundance and length after adding the electrolyte additive is shown below.

     A late October 2024 article in Interesting Engineering notes that German researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have utilized a porous organic polymer to massively increase the cycle life of ZIBs to 100,000 cycles. This improvement is also based on reducing the formation of dendrites. The researchers utilized:

“… a crystalline 2D porous fluorinated covalent organic framework, referred to as (TpBD-2F) on the ZIB anode, which serves as a protective layer. The material creates one-dimensional fluorinated nanochannels through which zinc ions can easily flow while repelling water molecules.”

“This prevents the formation of needle-like structures in the battery, commonly referred to as zinc densities, while also stopping reactions that trigger hydrogen production.”

“The protective film also enabled stable plating/stripping in symmetric cells for over 1200 h at 2 mA cm−2, the researchers said in a paper published earlier this month.”

     The paper’s abstract summarizes the results:

“…the reversibility of zinc anodes is constrained by unchecked dendrite proliferation and parasitic side reactions. To minimize these adverse effects, a highly oriented, crystalline 2D porous fluorinated covalent organic framework (denoted as TpBD-2F) thin film is in situ synthesized on the Zn anode as a protective layer. The zincophilic and hydrophobic TpBD-2F provides numerous 1D fluorinated nanochannels, which facilitate the hopping/transfer of Zn2+ and repel H2O infiltration, thus regulating Zn2+ flux and inhibiting interfacial corrosion. The resulting TpBD-2F protective film enabled stable plating/stripping in symmetric cells for over 1200 h at 2 mA cm−2. Furthermore, assembled full cells (Zn-ion capacitors) deliver an ultra-long cycling life of over 100 000 cycles at a current density of 5 A g−1, outperforming nearly all reported porous crystalline materials.”

     In summary, I conclude that zinc-ion tech is poised to replace a significant amount of lithium-ion tech in the years ahead. How much depends on how these new discoveries in corrosion inhibition and dendrite formation reduction can be integrated into existing manufacturing and how well economies-of-scale can be achieved to make costs better than just competitive. There is no doubt that ZIBs will take some market share from LIBs and become preferred for certain applications, What remains to be seen is how well they can compete performance-wise with LIBs for other apps. It does not yet appear that they will be preferred for EVs, mainly due to energy density but that could change at some point in the future. 

 

 

References:

 

Zinc battery reaches impressive 100,000-cycle life with German innovation. Ameya Paleja. Interesting Engineering. October 29, 2024. Zinc battery reaches impressive 100,000-cycle life with German innovation

New zinc batteries offer 10x more life, safer than lithium energy devices. Prabhat Ranjan Mishra. Interesting Engineering. September 4, 2024. Dendrite suppression leads to 10 times increase in zinc battery life

Affordable zinc-ion battery built using office laminator can replace lithium cells. Rupendra Brahambhatt. Interesting Engineering. September 20, 2024. Affordable, safe zinc-ion battery made possible with modified polymer

World’s first zinc-ion battery mega-factory targets 100 MWh annual output. Mrigakshi Dixit. Interesting Engineering. September 3, 2024. Enerpoly opens world's first zinc-ion battery mega-factory in Sweden

Zinc-ion batteries: Materials, mechanisms, and applications. Jun Ming, Jing Guo, Chuan Xia, Wenxi Wang, and Husam N. Alshareef. Materials Science and Engineering: R: Reports. Volume 135, January 2019, Pages 58-84. Zinc-ion batteries: Materials, mechanisms, and applications - ScienceDirect

Zinc-ion battery. Wikipedia. Zinc-ion battery - Wikipedia

Zinc-ion Batteries Are a Scalable Alternative to Lithium-ion. Ryan Brown. Salient Energy. Power Magazine. September 4, 2021. Zinc-ion Batteries Are a Scalable Alternative to Lithium-ion

Zinc batteries that offer an alternative to lithium just got a big boost. Casey Crownhart. MIT Technology Review. September 6, 2023.  Zinc batteries that offer an alternative to lithium just got a big boost | MIT Technology Review

Unraveling chemical origins of dendrite formation in zinc-ion batteries via in situ/operando X-ray spectroscopy and imaging. Hongliu Dai, Tianxiao Sun, Jigang Zhou, Jian Wang, Zhangsen Chen, Gaixia Zhang & Shuhui Sun. Nature Communications volume 15, Article number: 8577 (October 2024). Unraveling chemical origins of dendrite formation in zinc-ion batteries via in situ/operando X-ray spectroscopy and imaging | Nature Communications

Salient Energy says zinc-ion battery close to market after latest breakthroughs. Chris Crowell. Solar Builder. September 11, 2023. Salient Energy says zinc-ion battery close to market after latest breakthroughs | Solar Builder

Homebuilder HWS to include Salient’s zinc-ion batteries in over 200,000 homes. Chris Crowell. Solar Builder. May 16, 2022. Homebuilder HWS to include Salient's zinc-ion batteries in over 200,000 homes | Solar Builder

A major boost for clean energy storage: prolonging aqueous zinc battery rechargeability. Diane Merlot. UNSW Sydney. January 3, 2024. A major boost for clean energy storage: prolonging aqueous zinc battery rechargeability

Converting a low-cost industrial polymer into organic cathodes for high mass-loading aqueous zinc-ion batteries. Nanduni S.W. Gamage, Yanlin Shi, Chanaka J. Mudugamuwa, Jesús Santos-Peña, David A. Lewis, Justin M. Chalker, and Zhongfan Jia. Energy Storage Materials. Volume 72, September 2024, 103731. Converting a low-cost industrial polymer into organic cathodes for high mass-loading aqueous zinc-ion batteries - ScienceDirect

Ion-Transport Kinetics and Interface Stability Augmentation of Zinc Anodes Based on Fluorinated Covalent Organic Framework Thin Films. Da Lei, Wenzhe Shang, Lyuyang Cheng, Lyuyang Cheng, Poonam, Waldemar Kaiser, Pritam Banerjee, Suo Tu, Olivier Henrotte, Jinsheng Zhang, Alessio Gagliardi, Joerg Jinschek, Emiliano Cortés … et, al. First published: 13 October 2024. Advanced Energy Materials. Ion‐Transport Kinetics and Interface Stability Augmentation of Zinc Anodes Based on Fluorinated Covalent Organic Framework Thin Films - Lei - Advanced Energy Materials - Wiley Online Library

Maps of the Week: Drilling Mud Density, Smackover Lithium Play, LIDAR Finds Ancient Cities in the Amazon, and Geologic Hydrogen Exploration Along the Mid-Continent Rift

 

Map 1: Drilling Mud Density

     The first map shows the drilling mud density for Texas, the Mid-Continent region, and the Rockies region. Values were converted from pounds per gallon to psi/ft, so from mud weight to pressure. The map is essentially one of how much pressure is needed to control each reservoir.

     The map was made by geologist and reservoir engineer Bryan McDowell from Sabata Energy’s database and posted on LinkedIn. He notes:

“You can really see some of the basins/shale plays pop out (Delaware, Uinta, Powder, Anadarko, Haynesville) while others like the DJ and Midland basins are much more subtle.”

 

Map 2: Standard Lithium’s Map of the Smackover Brine Fairway

     This map shows Standard Lithium’s projects along the main prospective fairway of the Smackover lithium brine play. I believe the blue section delineates high-grade areas along the full fairway. The company has drilled Smackover Brine in East Texas with the highest lithium concentrations in North America rivaling the concentrations in the Lithium Triangle region of South America.

 

Map 3: LIDAR Finds Ancient Cities in the Amazon Rainforest

     This LIDAR map of the Amazon rainforest clearly reveals ancient structures that have never been excavated or explored to our knowledge. This is from a LinkedIn post by Travis Sachs who also links to his website: 3DS Technologies. They provide LIDAR services from Ontario, Canada.  

  “Recent LIDAR scans have revealed ancient cities deep in the Amazon rainforest, home to at least 10,000 people around 2,000 years ago. Built by the between 500 B.C. and 600 A.D., they are are marked by extensive road networks, with the largest roads stretching up to 33 feet (10 meters) wide and running for over 12 miles (20 kilometers). The discovery of over 6,000 earthen mounds and sophisticated agricultural systems challenges our assumptions about ancient Amazonian civilizations, showing they were much more complex and populous than previously believed.”

 

Image Credit: Billy Carson II

 

 

Map 4: Mid-Continent Rift Geologic Hydrogen Exploration Example

     This map was posted on LinkedIn by Paul Dial, Ph. D., a geologic hydrogen consultant. This is what he had to say about geologic hydrogen exploration along the Mid-Continent Rift:

“Better reservoir and source characterization within the Midcontinent Rift is essential to defining geologic hydrogen potential of the feature. One area within the rift may have the optimum existing data to more easily develop a regional model to characterize both. This location contains an exiting deep crustal seismic reflection profile and a nearby deep well that penetrated the mafic content within the rift. This appears to be a unique situation along the length of the buried portion of the rift. A regional program of geological and geophysical data collection could be integrated into the pre-exiting data to develop a more thorough model. I would propose the following program:

1. Reprocess existing deep crustal seismic reflection line

2. Collect regional high resolution gravity/aeromagnetic survey

3. Collect regional grid of 2D seismic reflection data

4. Drill 2-3 wells to aid in calibration of model and refine existing well interpretation based on optimum reservoir potential

With these data in hand, a more fully "3D" understanding of the regional potential for generation and capture of geologic hydrogen within the rift could be developed.”

Climate Activists Harass and Demonize with Climate Criminals Label

 

     I get it. It’s easy to think of ridiculously wealthy executives with a sense of cynicism. But to label businesspeople, financers, lobbyists, and conservative idealogues in the fossil fuel industry as climate criminals is in bad taste. Carbon emissions are often regulated but they are not a crime.

     While I think it is just fine and good to point out biases of key figures in debates about energy and the environment, to brand them as criminals and to accuse them of climate disinformation goes too far. It may be true that some of these people have views about the climate issue that are biased and unsupported by science but that is not the same as putting out disinformation. In most cases, they just believe more in biased science rather than mainstream science.

     In this case, the demonizers are an online site: climatecriminals.org. The effort is called the Climate Accountability Project. The so-called criminals are accused of bankrolling climate disinformation. The people they want to hold accountable are those who “deliberately fund climate science denial, lobby against clean energy alternatives, disseminate misinformation, and downplay climate risk.”

“We aim to make the expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure socially and politically unacceptable and to ensure that those responsible for that expansion are made to feel increasingly isolated and publicly known for their climate crimes.”

     As is perhaps par for the course, the founders of the project, Sociology professor Daniel Faber and economic and environmental justice advocate Chuck Collins, are quasi-socialists, anti-capitalists who are into things like divestment from fossil fuels, hardcore environmental justice, and economic equality. I can share the third interest somewhat as I think the super-wealthy have too much money and perhaps more importantly, too much influence. However, just because they are rich, it doesn’t mean that makes them criminals. Faber writes:

“This campaign illustrates how certain individuals take advantage of environmental injustice and brings to life the ugly underbelly of capitalism for the benefit of the public. America's top corporate polluters who are profiled in the campaign influence important climate policies to stall action and are responsible for worsening our climate crisis. They are architects and facilitators of profit over ecological and social welfare and must be held to account.”

     It is a campaign of demonization, plain and simple. The use of criminal terms like “offenders” and referring to their actions as abominable reinforce the demonization. Basically, the same groups that arose to counter the growing and well-financed climate change activism movement are the focus of their ire.

     I would want to ask them who made them the climate police? They are social scientists, so-called soft scientists rather than hard scientists. While they may be in the minority, many climate scientists do not condone climate activism. Some prominent ones do but others are more reserved about that and prefer to just work with the data and do science.

     The project claims to have identified 137 organizations that are promoting climate disinformation, “challenging the science, sowing doubt, and blocking alternatives.” To that, I would say that are there in some cases to provide a counterweight to the extremely biased climate activism movement that is well organized, well-funded, and determined to destroy the fossil fuel industry that is basically powering the world in a way that is reliable and affordable. There is currently no viable alternative to these “criminal” corporations, and we need them. Is it a crime to call out the rampant green energy hype? Green energy needs to be evaluated in terms of its economics and its reliability. High costs will disproportionately affect lower-income people. Lower reliability will do the same. Protecting those people by providing them with cheap and reliable energy is not a crime but a service. I for one am very grateful for access to relatively cheap fuel and electricity.

     Essentially, the ongoing climate war of information is mostly a conflict between the extremist sides of climate activists and climate skeptics. Those of us not on the extremes should just avoid the war if possible or call out bias and misleading actions as they occur, preferably without demonizing. What I am saying is that demonization is a tactic of extremists. According to Wikipedia:

“In colloquial usage, the term demonization is used metaphorically to refer to propaganda or moral panic directed against any individual or group, for the purpose of defamation, character assassination and/or dehumanization.”

     In another sense, demonization takes a civil argument into uncivil territory. I am a fan of civil discourse and of collaboration between parties that differ in view which also means tolerating diverse views.

 

 

 

References:

 

Report names donors bankrolling climate change disinformation. Eric Galatas. Public News Service. September 30, 2024. Report names donors bankrolling climate change disinformation / Public News Service

Meet the 2024 Climate Criminals. ClimateCriminals.org. 2024 CLIMATE CRIMINALS — Climate Criminals

New report reveals over 130 organizations funded to spread lies to the public: 'We should know who'. Alyssa Ochs. The Cool Down. October 29, 2024. New report reveals over 130 organizations funded to spread lies to the public: 'We should know who'

Demonization. Wikipedia. Demonization - Wikipedia

Suriname’s Offshore Block 58: Total and APA Approve FID in the Guyana-Suriname Basin: It Should be Interesting to See How New Oil Wealth Can Aid the Country in the Years Ahead

 

     With the recent world-class success of oil drilling offshore from neighboring Guyana, where 11 billion barrels of oil equivalent have been found, the small country of Suriname is expected to drill successful wells on its Block 58. France’s TotalEnergies and the U.S.’s APA Energy are partners in the project. The Suriname oil and gas company Staatsolie has options to take 20% and is working towards doing that. Big reserves to the southeast of Suriname, offshore Brazil, have also been found.  

     Suriname is a small country. It is multi-ethnic with many people of Indian, Chinese, Indonesian, and African origins. As it was once a colony of the Netherlands, Dutch is actually the main language spoken, at about 60%. The population is also small at about 620,000, with most people living along the coast. Though small, it is one of the least densely populated countries on Earth. The interior consists of heavily forested mountains. That makes it one of the most forested countries on Earth. Total emphasizes that they will use local labor for their project, requiring as many as 6000 workers (200 direct and 4000 indirect). That is about 1% of the total population, although some will come from other places. They are working with local universities to train people. The project will be the biggest investment in the country's history.

     TotalEnergies and APA plan to develop the Sapakara and Krabdagu fields, renamed as "Gran Morgu", with combined recoverable resources estimated above 700 million barrels.

“A Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) facility being built in Asia for the project, with a 200,000-barrel-per-day capacity, is expected to be one of the company's largest”, Pouyanne said. That contract, along with others including energy infrastructure builders SBM Offshore and Saipem, represent a total of $7 billion, he added.

     The plan is to drill 32 wells. Half, or about 16 wells, will produce oil and the rest will inject water and gas with oil. Gran Morgu is adjacent to Exxon’s prolific Stabroek block in Guyana waters, where 11 million barrels of oil equivalent have been booked. Total investment in the project is expected to be $10.5 billion. It is a deep-water project with water depths ranging between 100 meters and 1000 meters. The area is approximately 150 km offshore. Exploration and appraisal wells reveal estimated reserves of 750 million barrels equivalent on Block 58. Discoveries have also been made by Malaysian company Petronas on adjacent Block 52, also in Suriname’s waters.

“Over the estimated life of the production field, Suriname will be benefitted with between $16bn and $26bn of net income consisting of royalties, profit oil, and taxes.” At the high end that would amount to generating about $42,000 for every person in the country! With other potential projects also likely to be built as well, the country is on the verge of becoming quite wealthy. Its debt problems of the past are likely to disappear.

     Total and APA plan to utilize state-of-the-art mitigation of pollution and carbon emissions:

GranMorgu leverages technology to minimize greenhouse gas emissions, with a scope 1 and 2 emissions intensity below 16 kg CO2e/boe thanks in particular to:

• an all-electric FPSO configuration, with zero routine flaring and full reinjection of associated gas into the reservoirs;
• an optimized power usage with a Waste Heat Recovery Unit and optimized water cooling for improved efficiency;
• the installation of a permanent methane detection and monitoring system relying on a network of sensors.

     Suriname’s government recently announced that they will not consider loans against the future oil wealth, preferring to wait a few years until production is online. They have established a sovereign wealth fund that will invest some of the future wealth. The potential total wealth generated by the project at the high end is five times the annual GDP of the country.

 

 

Guyana-Suriname Basin Geology

     The geology of the Guyana-Suriname Basin is complex, but understanding has increased significantly in recent years. The hydrocarbon reservoirs are mainly Cretaceous and Tertiary in age. The Guyana-Suriname Basin is a half-graben Atlantic-margin basin. In 2000, the USGS rated it as the second most prospective unexplored sedimentary basin in the world. Basin floor fans, shelf margin deposits and turbidites directly overlie mature source rocks, the prolific Canje source kitchen that cooked hydrocarbons all over the region including equivalent source rocks in Venezuela and Columbia. The Canje section here is about 150 meters thick. Mature source rocks, stratigraphic closures, adequate geopressure, and effective lithologic seals, make the basin a hydrocarbon powerhouse. As can be seen, many earlier exploration efforts in shallower waters closer to shore resulted in dry holes. These wells were mainly down-dip and further from the source rocks.

     The basin began as a failed rift arm in the late Jurassic period. The rifting is part of the same rifting that pulled South America away from Africa as the two continents were joined in a Pangea event at the time. Thus, some of its exploration features are similar to the hydrocarbon plays off of the coast of West Africa, but with different sources of sedimentary rocks deposited.

      Drilling offshore Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana in the 2000s and early 2010s confirmed the presence of the source rocks and hydrocarbon shows but no production was established. A 2021 article in World Oil by Endeavor Management recounts the drilling history of the offshore basin, noting that knowledge and ideas from the deepwater West African plays began to be incorporated:

“Reservoirs were predominantly slope-channel sands, known as turbidites. Trapping style is referred to as stratigraphic traps, relying on solid top and lateral seals (shales). Structural traps are rare. Oil companies discovered early on, by drilling dry holes, that they needed to discriminate the seismic response of hydrocarbon-bearing sands from wet sands. Each oil company keeps its technological expertise concerning how they apply this technology as confidential. Each subsequent well is used to tweak this methodology. Once proven, this methodology significantly reduces the risk associated with drilling appraisal and development wells and new prospects.”

     Reservoir rocks are mainly Tertiary and especially Cretaceous turbidite sandstones but carbonate rocks and older Jurassic sandstones may be prospective as well.

     A structural and tectonic analysis of the Guyana Basin was published in April 2022 by the Geological Society of London. The authors noted that multiple plate margins were present due to the Pangea configuration that was about to split back up with rifting. The abstract of the paper is below:

“The Guyana Basin formed during the Jurassic opening of the North Atlantic. The basin margins vary in tectonic origin and include the passive extensional volcanic margin of the Demerara Plateau in Suriname, an oblique extensional margin inboard at the Guyana–Suriname border, a transform margin parallel to the shelf in NW Guyana, and an ocean–ocean margin to the NE, which morphed from transform to oblique extension. Plate reconstructions suggest rifting and early seafloor spreading began with NNW/SSE extension (c. 190–160 Ma) but relative plate motion later changed to NW/SE. The fraction of magmatic basin floor decreases westwards and the transition from continental to oceanic crust narrows from 200 km in Suriname to less than 50 km in Guyana. The geometry and position of the onshore Takutu Graben suggest it formed a failed arm of a Jurassic triple junction that likely captured the Berbice river during post-rift subsidence and funneled sediment into the Guyana Basin. Berriasian to Aptian shortening caused crustal-scale folds and thrusts in the NE margin of the basin along with minor inversions of basin margin and basin-segmenting faults. Stratigraphically trapped Liza trend hydrocarbon discoveries are located outboard of inverted basement faults, suggesting a link between transform margin structure and their formation.”

     The paper gives nine seismic lines and their interpretations. The locations are shown below as well as some other relevant maps and sections from the paper. The two seismic lines and interpretations cross the currently productive parts of the basin. The paper also notes a triple junction of three tectonic plates and a modern-day analog being the Afar triple junction of the Arabian, Somali, and Nubian tectonic plates along the east coast of North Africa.

 

 

 

References:

 

TotalEnergies, APA greenlight $10.5 billion oil and gas project in Suriname. Ank Kuipers and Marianna Parraga. Reuters. October 1, 2024. TotalEnergies, APA greenlight $10.5 billion oil and gas project in Suriname

TotalEnergies, APA to make investment decision in Suriname in Q4. Reuters. June 5, 2024. TotalEnergies, APA to make investment decision in Suriname in Q4 | Reuters

GranMorgu Project, Suriname. NS Energy.October 25, 2024.  GranMorgu Project, Suriname

The Guyana-Suriname Basin: An Evolving Exploration Opportunity. Warren Workman and David J. Birnie. AAPG Search and Discovery Article #10730 (2015). Posted March 20, 2015. The Guyana-Suriname Basin: An Evolving Exploration Opportunity, #10730 (2015).

Guyana-Suriname basin: Rise from obscurity to super potential. Thomas Cool and Lumay Viloria - Endeavor Management. World Oil, May 2021. Guyana-Suriname-Oil-History.pdf

Geo-Expro explores potential, challenges in Guyana-Suriname Basin in new report. Oil Now. September 3, 2023. Geo-Expro explores potential, challenges in Guyana-Suriname Basin in new report | OilNOW

The structure and tectonics of the Guyana Basin. James Trude, Bill Kilsdonk, Tim Grow, and Bryan Ott. The Lyell Collection. Geological Society London, Special Publications. April 6, 2022. The structure and tectonics of the Guyana Basin | Geological Society, London, Special Publications

Suriname will not consider loan offers against $26 billion oil patch. Ezra Fieser and Jorgelina do Rosario, Bloomberg, World Oil. October 25, 2024. Suriname will not consider loan offers against $26 billion oil patch

Suriname: TotalEnergies announces Final Investment Decision for the GranMorgu development on Block 58. TotalEnergies. Press Release. October 1, 2024. Suriname: TotalEnergies announces Final Investment Decision for the GranMorgu development on Block 58 | TotalEnergies.com

Suriname. Wikipedia. Suriname - Wikipedia

 

Lithium-Sulfur Battery Advantages, Challenges, and Breakthroughs: Lyten Plans World’s First Li-S Gigafactory Near Reno, Nevada

 

     Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries have some chance of replacing lithium-ion batteries for two reasons: higher gravimetric energy density and lower cost. They have been around since the 1960s but new developments have made them more viable. However, there are other problems to be worked out, including degradation or cycle life. Li-S batteries use sulfur, which is less expensive than the iron and cobalt used in lithium-ion batteries. Sulfur is also lighter. They use metallic lithium rather than lithium ions which improves the energy density. According to Wikipedia: “Li–S batteries offer specific energies on the order of 550 Wh/kg, while lithium-ion batteries are in the range of 150–260 Wh/kg.” No Li-S batteries were available on the market by early 2021, but they are just about to be commercialized en masse. The major issue with Li-S batteries has been the polysulfide "shuttle" effect that causes progressive leakage of active material from the cathode, resulting in too few recharge cycles. This problem has recently been overcome. Zeta Energy announced in 2023 that several laboratories have confirmed that their Li-S batteries with sulfurized-carbon cathodes were polysulfide shuttle-free. Previous attempts to commercialize Li-S batteries, mostly in the late 2010s, have failed. However, that is about to change as gigafactory manufacturing is set to happen in Nevada.

Li-S battery showing polysulfide shuttling effect. Source: Wikipedia

     Li-S batteries are considered to be semi-solid state or solid state. One advantage of solid-state batteries is that there is no chance of fires as there is with liquid lithium-ion batteries. Li-S batteries are lighter, cheaper, energy-denser, and safer, but not as durable but that is changing as you will see.  

 

New Developments in Li-S Batteries: Iodine, Polymer Coatings, a Polyacrylic Acid Layer, and Nanotechnology

     In March 2024 Interesting Engineering reported on a new healable cathode:

“A group of engineers at the University of California, San Diego, have created a new cathode material for solid-state lithium-sulfur batteries. The new material is electrically conductive and structurally healable, thus overcoming the drawbacks of the existing cathodes in these batteries.”

“Researchers claimed they significantly enhanced the cathode material’s electrical conductivity by 11 orders of magnitude by introducing iodine molecules into the crystalline sulfur structure, making it 100 billion times more conductive than sulfur crystals alone.”

“This sulfur-iodide cathode presents a unique concept for managing some of the main impediments to the commercialization of Li-S batteries. Iodine disrupts the intermolecular bonds holding sulfur molecules together by just the right amount to lower its melting point to the Goldilocks zone—above room temperature yet low enough for the cathode to be periodically re-healed via melting,” said Shyue Ping Ong, study co-senior author and a professor of nanoengineering at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering.”

     Testing revealed that the battery was still at 87% capacity after 400 charging cycles. That would represent about 100,000 miles for an EV with a range of 250 miles. Good but not good enough. The self-healing that occurs simply by heating it up could be incorporated into Li-S batteries of the future.

     An Interesting Engineering article from September 2024 gives another new development from Chinese scientists and engineers:

However, the adoption of Li-S batteries is limited. “The main challenges preventing the widespread adoption of Li-S batteries are their short cycling life, low-rate performance and safety concern via using lithium metal as an anode,” Liping Wang, a professor of Material Science and Engineering at the University of Electronic Science and Technology in China told Interesting Engineering in an email.

     The Chinese researchers found that a layer of polyacrylic acid (PAA) as effective in reducing the polysulfide shuttling effect. The layer retained its charging capacity at 72% after 300 cycles. That does not seem impressive to me, at least for an EV, unless the batteries are very cheap, and disposable in the sense of having a short lifetime. This affects overall lifetime costs too. They noted that the PAA layer could have applications with other battery chemistries, including lithium-molybdenum and lithium-vanadium batteries.

     Interesting Engineering also reported on a new Li-S battery in an article from October 2023 that uses a nanoporous polymer-coated lithium foil anode. The design uses less lithium per component which reduces costs. The designers noted that it “uses significantly less lithium, generates more energy per volume, lasts far longer, and will cost half as much as current lithium-ion batteries.” The polymer is able to selectively filter the small lithium ions. It also helps it charge and discharge repeatedly by acting as a “scaffold,” the researchers noted. The abstract to the paper in Advanced Sustainable Systems explains:

“Lithium metal batteries, in particular lithium–sulfur chemistries, hold great promise in energy storage from potentially increased gravimetric storage density and diminished reliance on transition metals, lowering resource demand and hence overall unit cost. However, these cells can have their feasibility improved to a greater extent by lowering the demand for lithium within their construction and reducing the polysulfide shuttling effect.”

Figure shows the improved capacity when a polymer-coated layer is added. Source: Advanced Sustainable Systems (paper)

     Hot off the press, a new Li-S breakthrough was just announced after I started writing this post. The press release below is from the Australian company Li-S Energy, Ltd.

Li-S Energy has announced a major advancement in lithium-sulfur battery technology, achieving an impressive 498Wh/kg energy density with their new 10Ah semi-solid-state cells. This breakthrough is poised to enhance drone, defense, and electric aviation markets by improving range and payload capacities. The company’s innovative approach places it at the forefront of the industry, drawing significant attention from global sectors.

     The breakthrough involves the use of Boron Nitride Nanotubes (BNNTs), and a new nano-composite that aids strength, increases life cycle, and improves performance of the cells. Li-S Energy, Ltd. Is partnered with an Australian manufacturer of BNNTs, which have not been used in batteries up to now because of cost and lack of manufacturing.

 

Source: Li-S Energy, Ltd. Website

What Will the Future Be For Li-S Batteries? If Challenges Can Continue to Be Overcome It Could Make E-Power Cheaper, Lighter, Safer, and More Durable

     With several different technologies successfully addressing the challenges of Li-S batteries it will be interesting to see which ones compete the best in terms of cost and performance. Maybe multiple breakthroughs can be combined. One thing for certain is that R&D is ongoing. As can be seen below from the description of Lyten’s Li-S battery, nanocomposites and protective coatings will both be utilized in the same design.

 

 

Lyten Plans to Build the World’s First Li-S Gigafactory Near Reno, Nevada

     Supermaterials company Lyten has been manufacturing battery components at its plant in California. It was announced in October 2024 that it will build a Li-S gigafactory in Nevada, near Reno.

“It will manufacture cathode active materials and lithium metal anodes and assemble lithium-sulfur cells, enabling a 100% domestically manufactured battery, according to a press release by the company.”

“At its maximum the facility will have the capability to produce up to 10 GWh of batteries annually.”

     The planned 1,25 million square foot facility is expected to be built on the 125-acre campus of Reno AirLogistics Park. The project is expected to be fully compliant with the Inflation Reduction Act by sourcing all materials domestically, including lithium. The gigafactory is expected to come online by 2027. Lyten expects their batteries to be used in many applications as noted on their website:

“Lyten has begun the multi-year qualification process for EVs, Trucks, Delivery Vehicles, and Aviation. But, Lyten is also on target to deliver commercial ready batteries for Drones, Satellites, and Defense applications in 2024 and micromobility and mobile equipment in 2025.”

     Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares had this to say about Lyten’s Li-S battery potential for EVs:

“Specifically, Lyten’s Lithium-Sulfur battery has the potential to be a key ingredient in enabling mass-market EV adoption globally, and their material technology is equally well-positioned to help reduce vehicle weight, which is all necessary for our industry to achieve carbon net zero goals.”

Source: Lyten (website)

Lyten's Li-S Battery

     According to its website the Lyten Li-S battery uses both nanomaterials (3D graphene) to mitigate polysulfide shuffling and protective anode coating to mitigate anode degradation. The company also notes that their San Jose, California factory was a converted lithium-ion factory which they converted at very low cost and noted that it can be done in the future as well if Li-S tech is proved up commercially. Lyten's battery architecture and cathode/anode weight requirements from their website are shown below.

     Lyten thinks that the costs for Li-S batteries will drop by 20% from 2025 to 2030 and be able to outcompete both lithium-iron-phosphate and nickel-cadmium batteries as the graph below shows.

 

 

References:

 

World’s first lithium-sulfur gigafactory to produce 10 GWh batteries yearly. Abhishek Bhardwaj. Interesting Engineering. October 16, 2024. World’s first lithium-sulfur gigafactory to produce 10 GWh batteries yearly (msn.com)

China builds unstoppable Li-S battery that works even after being cut in half. Ameya Peleja. Interesting Engineering. September 13, 2024. China creates Li-S battery that works even after being cut in half

Healable cathode to advance solid-state lithium-sulfur batteries. Jijo Malayil. Interesting Engineering. March 6, 2024. Healable cathode to advance solid-state lithium-sulfur batteries

Lithium-sulfur battery. Wikipedia. Lithium–sulfur battery - Wikipedia

Li-S Energy Unveils Breakthrough in Lithium-Sulfur Technology. TipRanks Australian Auto-Generated Newsdesk. October 27, 2024. Li-S Energy Unveils Breakthrough in Lithium-Sulfur Technology

Lighter lithium-sulphur batteries offer significantly lower costs. Loukia Papadopoulos. Interesting Engineering. October 24, 2023. Lighter lithium-sulphur batteries offer significantly lower costs

A Nanoporous Permselective Polymer Coating for Practical Low N/P Ratio Lithium Metal Batteries. Declan McNamara, Mahdokht Shaibani, Mainak Majumder, and Matthew R. Hill. September 4, 2023. Advanced Sustainable Systems. A Nanoporous Permselective Polymer Coating for Practical Low N/P Ratio Lithium Metal Batteries - McNamara - 2023 - Advanced Sustainable Systems - Wiley Online Library

BNNT — the game-changing nano material. Li-S Energy (website). Technology - Li-S Energy

Lithium-Sulfur Batteries. Lyten (website). Lithium-Sulfur Batteries - Battery Lithium-Sulfur | Electric Vehicles | Lyten 3D Graphene™ Supermaterials