This aluminum battery should not be confused with aluminum-air batteries under development. It does not have near the energy density of lithium batteries. Future aluminum-air batteries will have a much higher energy and power density and much greater recycle life as well, but in the mean time the higher energy density of the lithium ion batteries, in all their many varied constructs, remains superior to the aluminum battery in your article. As far as safety goes there again is quite a variable situation depending upon the types of electrodes, coating on the electrodes, electrolyte selected, venting mechanism, separation material and Battery Management System among other factors as well. Lumping all Lithium Ion batteries together is a common mistake usually made by the folks with Journalism degrees and no knowledge of the subject upon which they write. When No doubt theconsidering the safety factor alone you should consider that there is a huge difference between Lithium Cobalt batteries and Lithium Iron Phospate batteries. If you take any one type of Lithium Ion battery for safety consideration then among the members of that group there is still a wide divergence of safety depending upon the specific BMS (Battery Management System) utilized by the manufacturer. The aluminum battery mentioned in your posted article, supplying a lower voltage per cell, will be a valuable addition to the cornucopia of existing batteries on the market when it becomes commercially viable however it is doubtful that it will be an across the board challenge to all other battery technologies. More likely it will have a specific niche in the overall battery market where its qualities are most suitable, but still allowing for a considerable variability with other technologies including the Lithium Ion technologies. I wouldn't throw out my lithium batteries for a while just yet... quite a while.
