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Glossary

The Kallanish Glossary aims to be a useful resource for complex industry specific terminology. We are constantly adding to our glossary, so if you have a suggestion or amendment please do get in touch.
Separator

In a lithium-ion battery, a seperator is a critically important safety component.  It is a thin porous membrane that separates the anode and cathode. This is the seperator's main function, to prevent physical contact between the anode and cathode, while facilitating ion transport in the cell.

Silicon

Silicon is a chemical element with the symbol Si and atomic number 14. Silicon is used in a subclass of lithium-ion batteries and they are called Lithium–silicon batteries. These batteries use a silicon-based anode and lithium ions as the charge carriers.  Silicon has ten times higher capacity than graphite so replacing graphite with silicon could lead to lighter and safer batteries. However, silicon can take on more lithium than graphite, it tends to expand about 300 percent in volume, causing the anode to become electrically insulating and break apart.

Sodium-ion battery

The sodium-ion battery (NIB) is a type of battery in a subclass to the lithium-ion battery, however they use sodium ions (Na+) as the charge carriers. Its working principle and cell construction are almost identical with those of the commercially widespread lithium-ion battery types, but sodium compounds are used instead of lithium compounds.

Sodium-ion batteries have received much interest in recent years as a potential complementary technology to lithium-ion batteries, largely due to the uneven geographic distribution, high environmental impact and high cost of many of the elements required for lithium-ion batteries. Chief among these are lithium, cobalt, copper and nickel, which are not strictly required for many types of sodium-ion batteries. The largest advantage of sodium-ion batteries is the high natural abundance of sodium. This could make commercial production of sodium-ion batteries less expensive than lithium-ion batteries.

Solar power

Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV), indirectly using concentrated solar power, or a combination. Concentrated solar power systems use lenses or mirrors and solar tracking systems to focus a large area of sunlight into a small beam. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the photovoltaic effect.  Using batteries in conjuntion with solar panels allows the power created to be stored and used at a later time. Lithium-ion and lead-acid are two chemical materials that you can most commonly find in batteries used for solar panel systems. Despite the higher  price, lithium-ion batteries still enjoy a bigger market share due to their longer lifespan and higher usable capacity.

Spherical Graphite

Spherical graphite is manufactured from flake graphite concentrates produced by graphite mines and is the battery anode material (BAM) used in lithium-ion batteries. The first part of the process consists of micronizing, rounding and purifying flake graphite to produce uncoated material. 

It is also known as battery-grade graphite, is the product that is consumed as an anode in lithium-ion batteries. This decreases the surface area, to allow more graphite into a smaller space, thus creating a smaller, lighter, more efficient anode for the battery. 

Spodumene concentrate

Derived from pegmatite rock, Spodumene is a lithium mineral that is known for its high lithium content. Spodumene was previously the main source of lithium production, but the industry moved away from this source due to lower operating costs when extracting lithium from brines. That being said, the current strong demand for lithium coupled with spodumene’s high lithium content, has led to a resurgence of the exploration for and development of spodumene deposits.  Additionally, lithium extraction from spodumene generally has a shorter time from discovery to production in comparison to brine operations.

Sulphur

Sulphur s a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. The lithium–sulfur battery (Li–S battery) is a type of rechargeable battery. The low atomic weight of lithium and moderate atomic weight of sulfur means that Li–S batteries are relatively light. Some Li–S batteries offer energy in the range of 550 Wh/kg, which is significantly better than most lithium-ion batteries, which are in the range of 150–260 Wh/kg.

Supercapacitor

A supercapacitor (SC), also called an ultracapacitor, is a high-capacity capacitor with a capacitance value much higher than other capacitors, but with lower voltage limits, that bridges the gap between electrolytic capacitors and rechargeable batteries. It typically stores 10 to 100 times more energy per unit volume or mass than electrolytic capacitors, can accept and deliver charge much faster than batteries, and tolerates many more charge and discharge cycles than rechargeable batteries.

Supercharger

Superchargers deliver energy rapidly, and gradually slow down as the battery fills. A supercharger is an air compressor that increases the pressure or density of air supplied to an internal combustion engine (ICE). This gives each intake cycle of the engine more oxygen, letting it burn more fuel and do more work, thus increasing the power output. Power for the supercharger can be provided mechanically by means of a belt, shaft, or chain connected to the engine's crankshaft.

Common usage restricts the term supercharger to mechanically driven units; when power is instead provided by a turbine powered by exhaust gas, a supercharger is known as a turbocharger or just a turbo—or in the past a turbosupercharger.

Sustainability

Sustainability is the ability to be maintained at a certain rate or level, meeting our own needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Sustainable energy

Sustainable energy involves increasing production of renewable energy, making safe energy universally available, and energy conservation. The use of energy is considered sustainable if it meets the needs of the present without compromising the needs of future generations. Sustainable energy typically include environmental aspects such as greenhouse gas emissions, and social and economic aspects such as energy poverty.

 

Synthetic graphite

Synthetic graphite is an artificial type of graphite, and is a petroleum-based composite used in a variety of applications requiring superior to natural graphite properties. This composite can be produced in several ways, all of which change the physical properties of the final graphite. 

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