Powering the extreme: rising world of batteries that could operate at ultra-low temperatures

Abstract

Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries and sodium-ion batteries significantly underperform at ultra-low temperatures, limiting their applicability in critical fields such as aerospace, polar exploration, and cold-climate electric vehicles. This review summarizes recent progress in overcoming these challenges by advancing key battery components: electrolyte, electrode, and separator. Improvements in electrolyte formulations focus on solvation dynamics to enhance ionic conductivity and operational stability under sub-zero conditions. Electrode designs are employed by developing multicomponent materials, structure and interface engineering, and morphology control to effectively alleviate kinetic limitations and suppress detrimental side reactions. Separator modifications introduce functional surface coatings to broaden the operational temperature range while improving safety characteristics. Finally, this review provides a comprehensive overview and future research directions to enable the practical deployment of robust battery technologies for extreme-temperature applications.