Fast-charging lithium battery

There is report from Cornell University that Engineers have created a new lithium battery that can charge in under five minutes, faster than any such battery on the market while maintaining stable performance over extended cycles of charging and discharging. 

The breakthrough could alleviate "range anxiety" among drivers who worry electric vehicles cannot travel long distances without a time-consuming recharge.

Lithium-ion batteries are among the most popular means of powering electric vehicles and smartphones.

The batteries are lightweight, reliable and relatively energy-efficient.

However, they take hours to charge, and lack the capacity to handle large surges of current.

The researchers pinpointed indium as an exceptionally promising material for fast-charging batteries.

Indium is a soft metal, mostly used to make indium tin oxide coatings for touch-screen displays and solar panels.

The new study shows indium has two crucial characteristics as a battery anode: an extremely low migration energy barrier, which sets the rate at which ions diffuse in the solid state; and a modest exchange current density, which is related to the rate at which ions are reduced in the anode.

The combination of those qualities -- rapid diffusion and slow surface reaction kinetics -- is essential for fast charging and long-duration storage