The goal of Magnesium Ion Cell (MagIC), a joint project with the Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT), VARTA Micro Innovation GmbH, and AVL List GmbH, is the development of an efficient, rechargeable 3 V magnesium battery. With an optimized metallic anode, a novel cathode and an improved nonaqueous electrolyte composition, this light metal energy storage system will contribute decisively to the next battery generation’s improved safety, performance and environmental sustainability. The advantage of the concept lies in the fact that this cell would provide significantly higher energy density (up to 500 Wh/kg, as opposed to up to 300 Wh/kg for Li cells) and the metal anode would be significantly less expensive than current lithium ion batteries- by a factor of 24. This would make it a very attractive solution for future electric vehicles.
The project (no. 840457) is funded by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) under the call Mobilität der Zukunft.