A critical discussion of the current availability of lithium and zinc for use in batteries.

Innocenti, Alessandro; Bresser, Dominic; Garche, Jürgen; Passerini, Stefano · Nat Commun · 2024

editorial · Level V

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Abstract

In the literature on zinc-based batteries, it is often highlighted that zinc offers significant advantages over lithium due to its abundance, affordability, and accessibility. Additionally, aqueous rechargeable zinc batteries are promoted as a sustainable and cost-effective alternative to lithium-ion batteries, especially for renewable energy storage. The aim of this Comment is to provide a perspective on these statements, elucidating their foundations and implications and giving a quick but comprehensive background to authors and readers that deal with this topic, focusing specifically on batteries with zinc ions shuttling reversibly between the metallic negative electrode and the insertion-type positive electrode.