Chinese battery giant CATL is reportedly exploring a new type of air-breathing battery known as a lithium-air battery, which could, in theory, deliver over 1,243 miles (2,000 km) of range for electric vehicles (EVs).

What’s more, these so-called lithium-air batteries could deliver at least five times the energy density of solid-state batteries. All this without adding extra weight to the technology and, critically, the EV.

However, it is not all gravy. It turns out that lithium-air batteries are exceptionally good at storing energy (at least on paper). But, it turns out, they are very difficult to make rechargeable, durable, and practical.

For the uninitiated, the simplest way to understand it is to think of a lithium-air battery as a rechargeable battery that works a little like a combustion engine. It draws oxygen from the atmosphere to help release energy, rather than carrying all its reactive materials internally.

By contrast, a conventional lithium-ion battery has two electrodes containing materials that store and release energy. Everything it needs is essentially contained within the battery.

A lithium-air battery, on the other hand, does something very different. They essentially use oxygen from the surrounding atmosphere as one of its reactants. During discharge, lithium metal reacts electrochemically with oxygen in the air to produce lithium peroxide (Li₂O₂) and release electrical energy.

This provides the free electrons to power the EV’s motors and systems during operation. When charging, electrical energy forces the reaction to reverse, breaking down the lithium peroxide, releasing oxygen and restoring the lithium metal.

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