Muhammad Irfan 
Experts say that in the future, batteries based on calcium or magnesium may become common instead of lithium. This development could lead to a major change in the battery industry. In the current era, mobile phones, laptops, electric cars and other energy storage systems mostly rely on lithium-ion batteries. However, elements such as lithium and cobalt are expensive, limited resources, and their mining increases environmental pollution.
In addition, lithium batteries are prone to overheating, which poses a threat not only to their performance but also to safety. According to experts, both calcium and magnesium are abundant in the earth’s crust, and their availability is not a problem.
Calcium is a “divalent ion”, meaning it has a positive charge of +2. This feature allows each ion to store more energy, which increases the energy density of the battery. A **calcium-ion battery prototype developed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences showed that the battery retained 84 percent of its original capacity after nearly 1,000 charge cycles. These results indicate that calcium batteries are not only durable but can also be useful for a long time.
Another advantage of calcium is that its melting point is relatively high, which protects the battery from the effects of high temperatures. Due to this feature, calcium batteries are being considered safer.
Although research on calcium batteries is still in its early stages, scientists hope that reliance on lithium will decrease in the coming years. Experts say that if the charging speed, energy efficiency and cost of these batteries are further improved, calcium batteries could prove to be a revolutionary solution for future electric vehicles, storage systems and electronic devices.
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