Progress is seen in use of sulfur in batteries

Nature : Lithium–sulfur batteries were first proposed in the 1970s. In theory, sulfur-based cathodes could produce batteries with 5 times the energy density of current lithium-ion batteries. But sulfur doesn’t conduct ions very well, so the lithium ions only bond near the very surface of the cathode; that limits the energy density. And when sulfur bonds with lithium, the resulting polysulfide molecules dissolve in liquid electrolytes and destroy the cathode. The result is batteries with much lower energy density than expected energy density and lifespans of only a few dozen charge cycles. Significant progress has been made on shaping cathodes with carbon fibers to increase surface area and therefore energy density, and the design of batteries with no liquid electrolytes is extending battery life, but sulfur batteries still aren’t competitive with most current batteries. However, both private industry and the US government are heavily investing in research into developing marketable lithium–sulfur batteries, with hopes of having prototypes available by the end of the decade.