The solution that Microsoft proposes for the excessive and dangerous consumption of lithium

Microsoft Unveiled a discovery that could change the battery industry. The company uses it in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). artificial intelligence To develop a new material that promises to reduce Dependence on lithium in batteries.

This component is present in most existing devices, although it is a limited resource that is currently being produced only by countries Australia, Chile, China and Argentina, Additionally, its use in batteries is associated with environmental and safety concerns.

Global lithium demand is expected to increase Will double by 2028 This is primarily driven by the growth of the electric mobility market, which presents challenges in terms of sustainability and availability.

In response to this problem, the company has developed a new battery material that is not only efficient and safe, but also significantly reduces the reliance on the material that is present in most batteries today.

This project has resulted in a solid state electrolyte composed of lithium, sodium and other chemical elements capable of Reduce lithium content in batteries by up to 70%.

Microsoft has leveraged its artificial intelligence technology, particularly with its Azure Quantum Elements product, to accelerate the discovery of this development. Instead of relying on traditional methods that could take decades, the AI ​​algorithm digitally screened more than 32 million potential ingredients in just 80 hours.

This approach identified more than 500,000 stable candidates, improving the path to selecting and testing the right components.

Collaboration with PNNL has been crucial in this phase of the project. Working together with this laboratory allowed Microsoft not only to test known materials, but also to discover a completely new material, previously unknown and not present in nature.

This material, as a solid-state electrolyte, has proven capable of successfully operating a prototype battery, providing options to reduce reliance on lithium in the near future.

PNNL’s research leader, Vijay Murugesan, highlights concerns about limited resources and the geographic concentration of elements, including lithium. The extraction of this component is associated with environmental problems and its shortage in the market poses challenges to the expansion of battery technology.

“The main focus of our work at PNNL is to identify new materials for the growing energy storage needs of the future; “Sustainable materials that conserve and protect the Earth’s finite resources,” Murugesan said in a statement published on the official Microsoft blog.

This achievement not only represents a technological advancement in improving battery manufacturing conditions, but also demonstrates The potential of artificial intelligence in scientific discoveries.

On its official blog, Microsoft highlighted this discovery as “the first real example” of what will be a series of achievements in this new era: the ability of AI to process large amounts of data and propose innovative solutions in a matter of hours. Ability. Instead of weeks or years.

Although the battery prototype has proven successful in powering a light bulb, researchers know they still have a long way to go.

Industrial-scale testing and continued evaluation of the new solid-state electrolyte are critical before this technology can be widely deployed, so it’s unclear when we might see this new component inside a device.