IBM Battery 500 Project

IBM has announced a new project called the Battery 500 Project which will build an air-breathing battery to propel an electric care 500 miles. It will use oxygen from the air to drive a battery chemical reaction delivering a big jump in EV range potential. So ten years from now, range anxiety for electric cars could be a thing of the past.

Materials scientists for years have been pursuing lithium air batteries, which use oxygen from the air to react with lithium ions to discharge and charge electric energy. It still remains in the realm of research but Wilcke said that IBM has made progress understanding the basic chemistry and made important decisions on how a working battery would be engineered.