Battery that 'charges in seconds'

Battery that 'charges in seconds'

The material is cheap, and batteries made with it are less likely to explode
A new manufacturing method for lithium-ion batteries could lead to smaller, lighter batteries that can be charged in just seconds.

Batteries that discharge just as quickly would be useful for electric and hybrid cars, where a quick jolt of charge is needed for acceleration.

The approach only requires simple changes to the production process of a well-known material.

The new research is reported in the scientific journal Nature.

news.bbc.co.uk...

This development will help make the purely electric vehicle more likely.

That's quite interesting.

That's quite the boost in maximum current.

The issue with batteries at the moment is, if you try to exceed their rated current output (which is usually very low compared to wired power supplies) they will either cap off and cause a "brown out" in your equipment, or they'll overheat and leak, sometimes explode.

The issue with electric vehicles so far has been with the batteries.
While we can pack allot of energy into a battery, the rate of which it can be used is limited. Meaning, acceleration is limited on batteries that are wired for range. (More in series = range, less acceleration due to less current). If it's wired for high current output, they're in parallel... but that's less space for series wired batteries, meaning range is diminished.

A battery with a high maximum output means we no longer have to worry about balancing voltage and current... all we have to worry about is setting the voltage, and we can rely on the current to be available when needed.

I like... I like allot.


I can think of many other potential uses for these, but that's for another thread and time.

nice find, let's just hope this will be used for the right reason's, lmao. Haven't seen anything on the news on them in aus, it's a shame most of the news lingers on the bad stuff, fear mongering much?

Cherry

I can't think of any ways you could use a battery for the wrong reasons... at least, not in any way which couldn't be done with another object.

What are you thinking of?

Yes this would be great for electric vehicles for reason already stated by johnsky. Also with kinetic energy recovery systems you could keep the batteries topped-up whenever you hit the brake pedal.

Originally posted by johnsky
I can't think of any ways you could use a battery for the wrong reasons... at least, not in any way which couldn't be done with another object.

What about tasers, or other electronic weapons?
Only 10 secs to recharge, by the time you screamed "don't tase me bro" your taser is fully recharged

Interesting read.
I always had a simple idea to take electrolitic capacitors of a really high farad value and give them a quick jolt, then figure out a way to regulate the current being used from it's charge in such a way to run small electronics for a long period of time. Maybe small watches or LEDs could be ran for months or years using this idea? Like said, just an idea.
Capacitors can charge almost instantly. Probably a little off topic but felt the need to share my idea. It sure would beat having to get a new watch battery every darn year

Originally posted by darklife
Interesting read.
I always had a simple idea to take electrolitic capacitors of a really high farad value and give them a quick jolt, then figure out a way to regulate the current being used from it's charge in such a way to run small electronics for a long period of time. Maybe small watches or LEDs could be ran for months or years using this idea? Like said, just an idea.
Capacitors can charge almost instantly. Probably a little off topic but felt the need to share my idea. It sure would beat having to get a new watch battery every darn year

There is a time constant for capacitor charging but advances may be in the works. Google 'ultracapictor' for some interesting reading.

A purely electric car will be a disaster for our environment unless...
1. We get all our electrical energy from nuclear-renewables
2. Drastically increase the efficency for generating electricity beyound around 33%
3. Carbon capture from otherwise bad sources like coal

However making use of waste energy from cars is a win, win.

I wonder if anyone would buy up the patient and only release it when it's expired like 30 years later; (by which time we're probably all screwed?).

reply to post by Liberal1984


Unless we use renewable energy sourves........

Pure electric cars WILL NOT "be a disaster for our environment"!

Car engines are about 15%eff. www.exxonmobil.com...

Power plants are about 35 to 42%eff.
wapedia.mobi...

Its better to take energy from the more efficient source.

A car engine uses power when its stopped (idles), an electric motor does not. An electric motor can be of a lower HP then an engine and still get the same preformance of a larger HP gas engine as it has ALOT more torque the a gas engine. The only thing thats stopping electric cars is the battery.

Just because you heard someone say that electric cars just change the location of the polution, does not mean they are poluting more. Even if they made the same amount of polution, you pay less for the energy and future car repairs.

The problem is in the mining of Lithium
There are no large sources of high grade lithium.
This means large mines with a lot of unwanted potentially toxic byproducts.
The lithium reserves are estimated at 30.000 tonnes this means there is a limited available source for lithium and the cost will raise quickly with large scale battery production.
Also because about half the reserves are in the Salar de Uyuni area of Bolivia these could be cut off quickly because of political unrest

Lithium is widely distributed on Earth,[12] however, it does not naturally occur in elemental form due to its high reactivity. Estimates for crustal content range from 20 to 70 ppm by weight.[7] In keeping with its name, lithium forms a minor part of igneous rocks, with the largest concentrations in granites. Granitic pegmatites also provide the greatest abundance of lithium-containing minerals, with spodumene and petalite being the most commercially viable mineral sources for the element.[7] A newer source for lithium is hectorite clay, the only active development of which is through Western Lithium Corp in the USA. [13]

According to the Handbook of Lithium and Natural Calcium, "Lithium is a comparatively rare element, although it is found in many rocks and some brines, but always in very low concentrations. There are a fairly large number of both lithium mineral and brine deposits but only comparatively a few of them are of actual or potential commercial value. Many are very small, others are too low in grade."[14] The most important deposit of lithium is in the Salar de Uyuni area of Bolivia, which holds half of the world's reserves.[15] The lithium reserves are estimated at 30.000 tonnes in 2015[16].

quoted from en.wikipedia.org...

reply to post by pteridine


I was reading about this earlier...... great technology. They said there will have to be a special type electrical unit to charge it fast.

Last year I began studing about batteries, due to wanting an electric car....... lithium batteries are really the only way to go... now with this new tech.... where the batteries can charge fast and also give the pick up speed needed initally..... this can be great.

To me it is still frustrating..... due to the new science and technology that I read about all the time....... yet...... they always say the technology is "years" out for the public.

Just like solar panels now that can generate a 44% sun charge - compared to the solar panels on the market today that only get a 7 to 12% of sun value charging/conversion.

I wish the technology was out today!

reply to post by XL5


But neither do they benefit the environment. The main purpose of electric cars is to make money from fools who believe that by having a car that uses electricity instead of fossil fuels they are helping the environment. It is another way of keeping the foolish happy and unaware.

My opinion in terms of cars. Hydrogen cells so we can save fossil fuel for races and really loud engines .

www.teslamotors.com...

0 to 60mph in 3.5 seconds, only available in California at the moment.

This is great news, and a big step forward. I don't think there is any silver bullet that will solve future energy needs, but this should be step in the right direction. I never thought about the availability of Lithium. Maybe that might be a good place for future investments.

I wonder if batteries like this could be used with advanced capacitors? I think the real future of cars remains with hybrids. A small efficient generator backed by a battery and a capacitor storage systems seems the most reasonable way to go.

As far as electrical generation, wind power has been proven to bee extremely effective. There are places where the wind is constant enough to continuously supply power, and Europe has demonstrated this.

Sounds interesting...i use back to back 12V for sub-mini valve pedals,or fet pedals(im a guitar player)....but..i could see me switching if these become available in the near future rather than relying on the crappy rechargeable batteries we have today that die within no time at all,dont see a timeline though.

Cauch1, electric car do help the environment. Car engines get 15% eff. and get turbine powerplants get 35-42% eff. An advancement in car engine technology that made a car engine get 35-42%eff. would help the environment, no its not perfect but its a large step. We can get that boost in efficiency already with electric cars and if we include sources like wind, sun and hydro it would be better for the environment compaired to gas.

Would you rather put 1$ of gas in a current car engine and get 15 cents of power/energy out with 15% eff. OR 35-42 cents of power/energy out with 35-42% eff. ?

Don't get me wrong, I love loud beafy engine sounds, but todays cars aren't like that anyway (normally).

reply to post by XL5


Turbo-diesels are said to be about 40% efficient. PEM fuel cells are more efficient when the energy used to produce the hydrogen is not considered. When it is accounted for, they are less efficient than the turbo diesel.
Elemental hydrogen is not a good energy storage medium because of its low energy density and handling characteristics.

Yep! This was already posted a bit ago...
www.abovetopsecret.com...


[edit on 15-3-2009 by buspol]

These are good for short range electric vehicle applications. Also the vehicles are practically like a cardboard box car, so lightweight and fragile like an egg shell. Long range abilities are still severly limited.

For example, try one of these in rush 3 hour traffic in Los Angeles roadways where moving along at 5 mph traffic jams are common everyday occurance. Not much kenetic recovery there.

Another example, taking a road trip across several states, some of which are quite large, meaning 80 or more miles in between towns and cities where you could get a recharge. Presents a bit of a problem there, not to mention I would not even want to dare going down the highway in an egg shell vehicle when a huge loaded up 18 wheeler comes the other direction and blows you over from its wind wake.

Ya these types of vehicles are fine for short, in town run arounds but very unpractical for most driving conditions.


Cheers!!!!