Lithium-Air Battery

The lithium-air battery is a metal-air electrochemical cell that generates current by oxidizing lithium at the anode while reducing oxygen drawn from the surrounding air at the cathode. Its theoretical specific energy, about 40 megajoules per kilogram (roughly 11,140 watt-hours per kilogram) in its charged state, is many times higher than a conventional lithium-ion battery, which is why the chemistry has been pursued as a possible successor for electric vehicles and other uses needing very light, high-capacity storage. In practice the technology remains at the research stage: demonstrated laboratory cells have reached only a fraction of the theoretical figure, around 6 megajoules per kilogram at the cell level, still roughly five times better than commercial lithium-ion cells but well short of what the chemistry promises. Recent laboratory work, including a 2025 prototype from the Illinois Institute of Technology and Argonne National Laboratory exploring a four-electron reaction pathway, and a 2026 announcement from battery maker CATL describing a prototype reaching 1,200 watt-hours per kilogram, shows the technology is still advancing rather than settled. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/