Chemical bath restores up to 95% capacity in old EV batteries

Scientists at Cornell University have developed a method called Direct Electrode-to-Electrode Regeneration (DEER), in which electrodes from outdated lithium-ion batteries are extracted and immersed in a bath containing 1,3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone (DMI). This removes the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI), a layer that builds up after hundreds of charge cycles and impedes electron flow. In this way, batteries recover up to 95% of...