https://j.people.com.cn/n3/2026/0323/c95952-20438572.html

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10210-6

A joint research team from the 811 Institute of the Eighth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology and Nankai University has succeeded in developing a hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) electrolyte for high-energy-density and low-temperature-resistant batteries. This technology is expected to significantly improve the range of existing lithium batteries and dramatically enhance their low-temperature resistance.

Conventional electrolyte solvents mainly use oxygen-based and nitrogen-based ligands, which offer excellent solubility for lithium salts, but restrict charge transfer, making further improvements in energy density and maintaining performance at low temperatures difficult. Currently, lithium batteries on the market have an energy density of approximately 300 watt-hours (Wh) per kilogram (kg) at room temperature, but this drops sharply to below 150 Wh/kg at -20 degrees Celsius.

The research team synthesized a new electrolyte solvent containing monofluoroalkanes. This effectively reduced the viscosity of the electrolyte, improving oxidation stability and ionic conductivity at low temperatures, thus enhancing the low-temperature output performance of high-energy-density lithium batteries. As a result, the energy density of lithium batteries can now be maintained at over 700 Wh/kg at room temperature and approximately 400 Wh/kg even at -50 degrees Celsius.

The potential applications of this research are broad. In the high-tech field, it will enable spacecraft and other vehicles to obtain more reliable energy supplies in the extremely cold environment of deep space, and will also contribute to extending the flight time and improving the payload capacity of drones and various smart robots. In daily life, it is expected to remove a major obstacle to the development of next-generation electric vehicles and smartphone batteries, leading to a dramatic improvement in the driving range of electric vehicles and the standby time of smartphones in low-temperature environments.