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LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — UNLV physicists say they have found a way to regenerate batteries in electric cars, phones and laptops.
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Instead of replacing expensive lithium-ion packs, they are testing a method that uses X-rays to restore battery capacity — potentially adding years of life and keeping more waste out of landfills.
How the process works
Over time, lithium-ion batteries lose range because ions get stuck in tiny fractures inside the cell.
Professor Michael Pravica and his team at UNLV’s Bigelow Physics Building are using powerful X-rays to free those trapped ions and clean up the battery’s internal surfaces without opening it up.
Pravica said X-rays act like a microscopic chisel.
“We realized that X-rays would be a good way to force out lithium ions that get caught in microscopic fractures as these batteries degrade,” he said. “And we would be able to free them back into conduction instead of being stuck and reducing capacity.”
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He said the technology could one day let dealerships or fleets restore battery health during routine service, instead of swapping out entire packs that can cost tens of thousands of dollars.
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“If you look at things like delivery trucks that are using electric vehicles as we speak, their fleets, it would be a wonderful benefit for them to basically revitalize and extend the life and extend the range, the driving range of their vehicles,” Pravica said.
If X-ray regeneration scales up, it could also keep old batteries out of landfills, reducing toxic leaks and fire risks while helping electric vehicles and other battery-powered gear hold their value longer, Pravica said.
The research builds on Pravica’s work with X-rays dating back to 2003. He said he realized X-rays could drive chemical reactions after watching crystals react during an experiment 11 years ago.
The team recently returned from conducting experiments at the Canadian Light Source in Saskatoon.
Researchers hope to have a proof-of-concept facility in Las Vegas within about a year. The company X-REGEN has been formed under UNLV’s encouragement to develop the technology.
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