Battery Technology

 

Computer, smartphones, and electronic devices are everywhere in the modern world and the all use rechargeable batteries. The battery technology is currently not keeping up with demands from the computing and graphic power of new devices. The electric car is being constrained by the current battery / energy technology. Seth Borenstein says that

‘in 2006 and 2007, more than 46 million cellphone batteries and 10 million laptop batteries - all lithium ion - were recalled because of the risk of overheating, short-circuiting and exploding. Additional safety features have been installed since then on lithium ion batteries used in consumer electronics.

As for the electric car industry, lithium ion batteries have proved to have two major drawbacks: They are costly, and they do not allow automobiles to go far enough between rechargings. ‘(Batteries hold back future tech).

There are all sorts of new batteries types being worked on at the moment such as:

·         lithium-air,

·         lithium-sulphur

·         magnesium

·         Sodium-ion.

All the current and new technologies have increased demand for smaller and more efficient batteries. Small devices such as smartphones and tablets require small powerful batteries.

I predict that this technology will have a major impact due to mobile computing devices becoming pervasive.

13 battery startups to watch in 2013 retrieved Mar 17 from: http://gigaom.com/2013/01/14/13-battery-startups-to-watch-in-2013/

Batteries hold back future tech retrieved Mar 17 from: http://www.3news.co.nz/Batteries-hold-back-future-tech/tabid/1160/articleID/284110/Default.aspx

Charging Ahead: The Future of Battery Technology retrieved Mar 17 from: http://www.physicscentral.com/explore/action/battery-future.cfm

Supercharged! Battery Power for the Future retrieved Mar 17 from: http://news.discovery.com/tech/gear-and-gadgets/super-charged-batteries-120201.htm