Safer, Higher-Capacity BatteriesSilver-zinc battery chemistry could replace lithium ion in laptops and other electronics--if such batteries can be made cheaply enough.
An alternative to lithium-ion batteries--silver-zinc batteries--could add several hours to the time that laptops can run between charges, while at the same time avoiding the safety issues that have resulted in the recent massive recalls of laptop batteries made by Sony, according to Zinc Matrix Power in Camarillo, CA.
The company, which received an innovation award from Intel last month for its new battery, has now demonstrated the silver-zinc technology in a laptop. Zinc Matrix plans to begin distributing test batteries to manufacturers early next year, focusing on applications in laptops and cell phones. In part, the gains in laptop runtimes would come because the silver-zinc batteries can store about 25 percent more energy in the same space, a result of both the chemistry and a more space-efficient flat shape, compared with cylindrical lithium-ion cells inside laptop battery packs, says Ross Dueber, president and CEO of Zinc Matrix Power. What's more, because silver-zinc batteries use a safer chemistry than most lithium-ion batteries, manufacturers could use larger batteries packs in laptops. Silver-zinc rechargeable batteries are not new--for example, they've been used by the Navy in submarines for years. But they've been plagued by high costs due to the use of silver, and by a short lifespan because they can be charged and discharged for only a relatively few cycles, and so have to be replaced more frequently than other types of batteries.  Dueber says the company plans to keep down the costs with a recycling program that will allow it to reuse the silver and zinc. And it has extended the charging cycle-life to hundreds of cycles--similar to many lithium-ion batteries. One of the reasons for the previously low cycle-life is that, as the batteries charge and recharge, zinc in the cell undergoes physical changes that lead to decreasing cell capacities. The company addressed this problem by embedding zinc granules within a conductive polymer. The safety of the batteries in part results from the use of a nonflammable electrolyte. "It is an inherently safe technology in comparison to lithium ion," Dueber says. "The fundamental difference is we do not use a highly flammable electrolyte, like lithium ion does. If you have an internal short circuit, which has recently plagued lithium ion, it does not have the possibility of bursting into flames and exploding." |
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Longer-Lasting Batteries for Laptops
04/07/2008
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Comments
SVE
10/11/2006
Posts:48
Recycling sounds good, but really, unless there is a financial incentive that makes people want to take the time and trouble to bring them in, they will be dumped. This could be good for silver mining, and there is no shortage of silver.
For fuel cells,,, they actually generate energy, whereas the batteries just store them. It could be a matter of niches, where the particular product works best.
kitk
10/11/2006
Posts:66
mjtimber
10/13/2006
Posts:6
Some customer ask me the question"Is Safe Using Li-ion Camcorder Battery", as there are too many event of "battery recall" at present.the following is my answer.
There is the rare possibility that any battery can explode. Some battery designs are more prone to this than others. Being a name brand battery isn't always a good indicator that a battery isn't one of those that might possibly explode. Sometimes even name brand stuff does this.
These things are very rare but it does happen. This is the one thing you might be concerned about when it comes to batteries. BTW camera companies buy their batteries from a company that makes batteries for the most part. The only thing you can do is to check for reports of explosions on the web. In the past there was no good way of finding out these things without making a trip to the periodicals section of a good library.
I buy lots of aftermarket batteries. I generally try to check about a retailer since it's often hard to know exactly what batteries are being sold. If you find a dealer that is known to sell lots of batteries that don't have problems then you shouldn't have any problems.
Like I said, I have all sorts of batteries from a number of manufacturers and I've never had any problems with explosions. I have had batteries that really weren't all that good. The worst ones I have were actually Panasonic but I strongly suspect I used a charger that was too powerful for them.
Li-ion batteries do not explode, at least I have never been able to find a reliable report of the battery exploding however they have been reported to get very hot, hot enough to reach 6,000 degrees which could in some cases being more dangerous than exploding.
The reference given seems to be a bit outdated. It states "Similarly, Li-ion batteries for defense applications are being produced that far exceed the energy density of the commercial equivalent. Unfortunately, these super-high capacity Li-ion batteries are deemed unsafe in the hands of the public. Neither would the general public be able to afford to buy them" There are actually several Li-ion battery chemistries used but even the consumer Li-ion batteries can be dangerous if you try to cut them open or puncture them.
Most camcorders today use the Li-ion batteries, as well as cellphones and a lot of laptops.
tancecom
11/13/2006
Posts:2
rhogan1
11/21/2006
Posts:3