Bringing lithium ion back from the dead

Quoting from the article in the first link above:

The invention works by adding a third electrode to the two poles already present in every Li-Ion battery. This third electrode then drains residual lithium-ions from one of the poles, thus removing “rock content” that prevents battery cells from storing more electricity.
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This is such obvious B.S. that it's clear this is a scam aimed at the scientifically uneducated. Lithium ion batteries degrade as they are repeatedly charged and discharged because the process of the lithium ions being transported from the positive to the negative electrode, and back again, involves a chemical reaction, which doesn't always work perfectly. Occasionally a positive and negative ion will react to each other, forming an inert salt. As this salt builds up in a "dendtrite", the capacity of the battery is reduced. The idea that you could add a "third pole" to a battery is gibberish that can only fool those without even the most basic technical understanding of how batteries work.

Even for the scientifically illiterate, it should be obvious this is a scam. If it wasn't, it would be front-page news on every science and tech journal in the entire world. It would be truly a revolutionary game-changer if there was a practical way to restore li-ion batteries to their original condition by sticking them into a device for 10 hours.
 
I started reading the article and I had a similar reaction as Pushi. The way the article explains it defies how I think batteries work. (The video is in French, so not too helpful.)

Then I read "His idea garnered interest from some of the world's leading electronics manufacturers, including Apple, Panasonic and Samsung, when he presented it at the International Battery Seminar in the United States in March last year." so I searched for his presentation from last year.

Turns out, he invented the graphite anode for lithium batteries and was a keynote speaker, so the dude's got bona fides (and a Wiki page).

Anywho...here is a description of his keynote at the 2017 International Battery Seminar (PDF):
4:45 KEYNOTE PRESENTATION: How to Significantly Increase Energy Density of Lithium-Ion Batteries without Changing Chemistry
Rachid Yazami, Ph.D., Professor and Principal Scientist, Energy Research Institute (ERIAN), Nanyang Technological University
Efforts to increase energy density of LIBs have been for the most part focused on developing anode and cathode materials with higher lithium storage
capabilities and, for the cathode, higher operating voltages. This approach, however, may alter cycle life and safety. Here we disclose a new approach
consisting on optimized utilization of full storage capability of anode and cathode. In fact, using thermodynamics measurements and analytical methods we found that in most commercial LIBs anode and cathode are used within a limited lithium composition range 20 to 40% below what is achieved in half cells. A strategy to enhance electrode utilization rate and, therefore, energy density by over 20% will be presented and discussed.

He didn't say anything about using a 3rd electrode to revive lithium batteries there, as far as I can tell. How about this year's conference, then?

Addressing Key Battery Issues from a Thermodynamics Perspective

Rachid Yazami, PhD, School of Materials Science & Engineering, Program Director, Energy Storage, Energy Research Institute, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
In this presentation, we will show how online thermodynamics data collection and processing addresses the SOC and SOH determination. We found a universal rule, which applies to all LIB tested at any SOH (ageing), that is the SOC is a linear function of entropy and enthalpy. Linearity coefficients are LIB chemistry and SOH dependent. Therefore, the thermodynamics assessment method teaches on the type of cathode material and on the degree of anode and cathode degradation as the battery ages.

Nope. Nothing there either.

So, I'm not sure how the Strait Times got their info, but I think I'll wait to hear something from another, preferably more scholarly, source before I get too excited.
 
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