Samples of the new solid electrolyte discovered by Microsoft AI and HPC tools. | Photo by Dan DeLong for Microsoft.
Artificial intelligence (AI) and large-scale cloud computing is speeding up the search for new battery materials. An AI-enhanced collaboration between Microsoft and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has already produced one promising new material, which the two are sharing publicly today.
They discovered a new kind of solid-state electrolyte, the kind of material that could lead to a battery that’s less likely to burst into flames than today’s lithium-ion batteries. It also uses less lithium, which is getting harder to come by as demand soars for rechargeable EV batteries.
There’s still a long road ahead to see how viable this material is as an alternative to traditional lithium-ion batteries. What scientists are most…