Stabilization of gamma sulfur enables 4000 cycle Li-S batteries [pdf]
Full title: &quot;Stabilization of gamma sulfur at room temperature to enable the use of carbonate electrolyte in Li-S batteries&quot;.  The paper is from February, but it doesn&#x27;t seem to have been posted before.  TLDR is that with just a new anode made from carbon nanofibers and sulfur, batteries otherwise almost identical to existing Li-Ion batteries would have 2-5 times the energy density, last 3 times as long, and cost 1&#x2F;3 or less, and be more environmentally benign (not needing cobalt).  The breakthrough here is the discovery that carbon nanofibers stabilize gamma-phase sulfur which previously was thought to only exist briefly at high temperatures, and which doesn&#x27;t form the polysulfides that have been the main problem with Li-S batteries.<p>Yeah, there have been lots of &quot;breakthrough battery tech&quot; announcements that didn&#x27;t lead to commercial products, but this one really looks like it may be just the leap forward that will make renewable energy storage a non-problem.