A picture of the challenges faced by the lithium-sulfur technology and the activities pursued by the research community to solve them is synthesized based on 1992 scientific articles. It is shown that, against its own advice of adopting a balanced approach to development, the community has instead focused work on the cathode. To help direct future work, key areas of neglected research are highlighted, including cell operation studies, modelling, anode, electrolyte and production methods, as well as development goals for real world target applications such as high altitude unmanned aerial vehicles. Lithium Sulfur (Li-S) batteries are one of the most promising next generation battery technologies 1 due to their high theoretical energy density, low materials cost, and relative safety.2 Li-S has the potential to achieve significantly higher gravimetric energy density than intercalation based lithium ion technologies, 3 with some companies already reporting 400 Wh/kg cells. 4,5 However, Li-S has a lower comparable volumetric energy, 6 suggesting that applications where minimising mass is more important than volume will adopt it faster. Li-S technology is close to industrial production, 7 with a number of companies scaling up manufacturing capabilities for large capacity cells. 4,5 Meanwhile, the number of Li-S research papers published per year has increased dramatically from less than 50 in 2010 to over 900 in 2016. We have reviewed almost two thousand articles to identify the major gaps in research and discussed how targeting them could speed up the development and adoption of Li-S technology. We also discuss how from an industry/applied research viewpoint focussing on a performance metric, such as power density, would speed up development iterations, getting products to market sooner and help unlock further research funding. Current StatusLi-S cells are already commercially viable in niche applications. In order to expand their market potential, however, there are still many challenges to overcome, such as limited cycle life, high self-discharge rates and over-heating at end of charge. Many of these are thought to be caused by the shuttle, where cathode species diffuse to the anode and react directly with the metallic lithium.8 Multiple solutions have therefore been proposed to prevent shuttle, such as physically 9,10 or chemically 11-13 encapsulating the sulfur, designing tailored carbon structures, 14 using electrolyte additives, 15,16 separators, 17 protective layers, 18 or solid electrolytes to physically protect the anode. 19-21However, many of these solutions affect energy or power density adversely or do not function in practical commercial cells. Li-S batteries also undergo significant volume changes during operation, which poses a particular challenge for battery pack system designers and is being studied only since recently. 22 These observations have only been possible since large form factor pouch cells are available. The effect of precipitation on useable capacity and reversible capacity loss, 23 and ...

Lithium Sulfur (Li-S) battery is generally considered as a promising technology where high energy density is required at different applications. Over the past decade, there has been an ever increasing volume of Li-S academic research spanning materials development, fundamental understanding and modelling, and application-based control algorithm development. In this study, the Li-S battery technology, its advantages and limitations from the fundamental perspective are firstly discussed. In the second part of this study, state-of-the-art Li-S cell modelling and state estimation techniques are reviewed with a focus on practical applications. The existing studies on Li-S cell equivalent-circuit-network modelling and state estimation techniques are then discussed. A number of challenges in control of Li-S battery are also explained such as the flat open-circuit-voltage curve and high sensitivity of Li-S cell's behavior to temperature variation. In the last part of this study, current and future applications of Li-S battery are mentioned.

Summary Economically viable electric vehicle lithium-ion battery recycling is increasingly needed; however routes to profitability are still unclear. We present a comprehensive, holistic techno-economic model as a framework to directly compare recycling locations and processes, providing a key tool for recycling cost optimization in an international battery recycling economy. We show that recycling can be economically viable, with cost/profit ranging from (−21.43 - +21.91) $·kWh −1 but strongly depends on transport distances, wages, pack design and recycling method. Comparing commercial battery packs, the Tesla Model S emerges as the most profitable, having low disassembly costs and high revenues for its cobalt. In-country recycling is suggested, to lower emissions and transportation costs and secure the materials supply chain. Our model thus enables identification of strategies for recycling profitability.

In this study, the influence of electric vehicle (EV) range on overall performance of an EV fleet is analysed. Various casestudies are investigated in which the EV fleet is simulated to cover a number of target points in a typical delivery problem. A trip scheduling algorithm is proposed in order to get all target points while considering the EVs range. The critical role of EV range in performance improvement of the whole fleet is analysed and an optimum EV range is obtained with regard to the whole fleet mileage. The results demonstrate that 250 km is an optimum range for an EV fleet to work in an area of 100×100 km². The number of target points, called task density, doesn't affect the optimum EV range very much and it can be determined only based on size of the service area. Finally, lithium-sulfur battery is discussed as a promising technology to extend EV range.