Gizmodo: lithium-ion batteries

Olivine-Type Sony Batteries Die Slow, Charge Like Whoa

John Herrman — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 12:40:00 EDT

Your weekly incremental battery breakthrough: Sony's olivine-type lithium ion batteries are said to live four times longer than typical li-i fare, and charge to 99% in just 30 minutes. Only for power tools, for now. [SonyInsider via OhGizmo via BBG]

Lithium Iron Phosphate Batteries Promise Charging in Seconds, World Braces For Disappointment

John Herrman — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 07:20:12 EDT

Battery "breakthroughs" are a dime a dozen, so excuse me for sounding a bit jaded here. But a battery that can charge in seconds? Without fatigue? If this wasn't published in Nature, I'd probably laugh.

Scientists at MIT claim to have discovered a new technique for manufacturing the lithium-ion batteries, using a unique mix of lithium iron phosphate instead of the traditional lithium cobalt found in most of your gadgets' batteries. Sparing you the gory details, these experiments resulted in a small test battery that could charge in in about 20 seconds (down from six), didn't overheat and displays no signs of reduced capacity after repeated use, all in trade for a "slight" decrease in capacity.

Despite looking like another one of those vaguely vaporous half-discoveries, its creators are really trying to assure us otherwise. Professor Gerbrand Ceder even goes so far as to say that due to the tech's similarity to existing l-i batteries, current factories could be easily converted for manufacture with the next two or three years. With MIT, publication in a reputable journal, and most importantly, a plausible explanation behind this thing, maybe, just maybe these batteries won't leave us hanging, disenchanted and juiceless once again. [BBC]

Stanford Professor Conjures Up 10x Life on Traditional Li-Ion Batteries

AddyDugdale — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 07:12:57 EST

Thanks to nanotechnology, an assistant professor at Stanford University has come up with a breakthrough in the longevity of Lithium-Ion batteries. As well as being able to power your laptop for up to 20 hours—10 times more than current levels—Yi Cui thinks that his design could also work on iPods and other handheld devices that rely on small batteries to work. The skinny after the jump.

The problem with current designs is that they are limited in the amount of lithium they can hold, as carbon is needed for the battery's anode. Yi Cui's design uses a nest of silicon nanowires to hold the lithium in place, allowing far more of the element to fit into the battery. Because so little silicon is used, there should be none of the traditional swelling damage that often occurs when too much of it is used.

Since the design uses technologies that are already mature, Cui reckons it will not take long to market his nanowire battery. He has already filed for a patent and hopes either to work with existing companies in order to start shipping the idea into existing products, or to form his own company. [Electronista]

Batteries on a Plane: 339 Burning Batteries Since 2003

Charlie White — Mon, 14 Aug 2006 12:24:48 EDT

As overreacting authorities busy themselves confiscating containers of deadly shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste and hemorrhoid cream from nervous fliers, an even greater danger lies right under their noses: what about laptop batteries? The US Consumer Product Safety Commission cites 339 instances of lithium and lithium-ion batteries "overheating, emitting smoke and fumes or exploding since 2003."

Meanwhile, Dell responsibly reacts to the news of its laptops catching on fire (see photo above) with a huge recall involving multiple millions of lithium-ion battery units, while at the same time multiple thousands of these batteries are still flying in airplanes as you read this. That recall may not happen soon enough. Note to TSA and Dell: "Dude, you're getting into a fiery plane crash." – Charlie White

Laptop batteries on planes are an accident waiting to happen [The Inquirer]