Breakthrough Discovery Will Help Reduce Lithium Mining — What is N2116

Through collaboration between Microsoft and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, a new material named N2116 has been discovered.

This substance exhibits the potential to reduce lithium usage in batteries by an estimated 70%. Demonstrated functionality includes powering a lightbulb, positioning N2116 as a viable candidate for sustainable energy storage solutions. The combined application of advanced AI and high-performance computing expedited the material discovery and battery development process significantly.

What we know so far:

• Microsoft and PNNL’s collaborative effort employed AI and supercomputing to identify a novel substance capable of reducing lithium consumption in batteries by approximately 70%.
• N2116, the newly discovered material, has undergone practical testing by powering a lightbulb, suggesting its viability for sustainable energy storage applications.
• The expedited process involved narrowing down 32 million potential inorganic materials to 18 promising candidates within a week, a substantial reduction in time compared to traditional lab research methods.
• Development of a functional battery prototype from the selected material was accomplished in less than nine…