Li-ion batteries

Although lithium-ion (Li-ion) technology plays a key role in the portable electronics market, it must meet ever-increasing demands in terms of autonomy, lifespan, safety and miniaturization. To improve the performance of lithium batteries, technological breakthroughs are needed. This means reconsidering the fundamental aspects of how these electronic devices work.

Quantum chemical methods can provide invaluable assistance in understanding the microscopic electronic phenomena behind energy production and storage. Thanks to the new concepts they propose for elucidating these mechanisms, they have already made it possible to develop materials capable of storing three to four times more energy than those currently on the market. Although they arrived very late in the energy field, these methods are now indispensable in the world of lithium batteries, as demonstrated by the growing number of theoretical studies published in the literature since 2000.