Samsung develops new technology that doubles the capacity of existing Lithium-ion batteries

As smartphone makers are developing new phones with high resolution displays, powerful processors and other features, long battery life has become all the more important. Users are demanding phones with batteries that last longer. Consequently, many companies are packing high capacity batteries into their smartphones but as phones are getting thinner, the battery size gets restricted. In such a scenario, researchers at Samsung have announced the development of a new technology that will increase the battery capacity in battery of the same size.

With the new technology, high quality graphene can be grown directly over silicon nanoparticles (NPs) surface without the formation of silicon carbide by using the newly developed chemical vapour deposition or the CVD process. The formation of silicon carbide is fatal for the silicon anode operations as it reduces conductivity. According to researchers, “the graphene-coated Si NPs reach a volumetric capacity of 2,500 mAh cm−3 (versus 550 mAh cm−3 of commercial graphite), the highest value among those reported to date for any LIB anodes while exhibiting excellent cycling and rate performance.”

This increases the capacity of the lithium-ion battery by 1.5x to 2x higher than the existing capacity. Thus, Samsung researchers are able to almost double the capacity of existing lithium-ion batteries that are used in smartphones and other gadgets. For instance if we consider the battery of Samsung Galaxy S6 which is of 2550mAh capacity, with the new technology, it could hold a capacity of over 4000mAh within the same size making it last for double the current time.

Samsung expects that this new breakthrough resulting in enhanced battery capacity will come in very useful for the mobile as well as the electric car industries. We will have to wait and see if this technology gets commercialized in time for the Galaxy S7.

Samsung develops new technology that doubles the capacity of existing Lithium-ion batteries

Safer and Cheaper Aluminum-ion Battery Developed by Stanford as Alternative to Conventional Batteries

Scientists from Stanford University have developed a product as an alternative to the conventional commercial batteries. The new battery will be partly made of aluminum which will be fast-charging, long-lasting and inexpensive. On top of that, it is also will be safe as it will not catch fire even though it is drilled through it.

Aluminum was chosen because it is low cost, low flammability and has a high-charge storage capacity. However, the challenge has always been finding the correct material which is capable of producing sufficient voltage after it being recharged and discharged a lot number of times.

The aluminum-ion battery has two electrodes, negatively charged anode which is made of aluminum as well as a positively charged cathode. A lot of material has been tested for the cathode. However, the team has accidentally discovered that by using graphite, which is basically carbon, gives the best performance.

For the experiment, the team has combined aluminum anode and graphite cathode along with ionic liquid electrolyte inside a flexible polymer-coated pouch. The electrolyte is basically a salt which is liquid at room temperature; therefore, it is very safe, safer than the conventional lithium-ion batteries as it does not catch fire unlike the lithium-ion battery.

The battery which the Stanford team has developed can withstand more than 7500 cycles without any loss of capacity unlike a typical lithium-ion battery which only lasts for 1000 cycles.

Apart from Hongjie Dai from Stanford, there are other co-lead authors of the study affiliated with Stanford, including Mengchang Lin from the Taiwan Industrial Technology Research Institute, Bingan Lu from Hunan University, and postdoctoral scholar Yingpeng Wu, Di-Yan Wang, Mingyun Guan, Michael Angell, Changxin Chen and Jiang Yang from Stanford; and Bing-Joe Hwang from National Taiwan University of Science and Technology.

Safer and Cheaper Aluminum-ion Battery Developed by Stanford as Alternative to Conventional Batteries

Smartphone Battery Goes from Dead to 70 Percent Charged in 2 Minutes? Is It Even Possible?

Apparently it is possible. A group of scientists from Nanyang Technological University of Singapore has figured out a way to supercharge the battery made from lithium-ion simply by adding a readily available substance that is normally found in sunscreen.

It is supposedly to be able to charge a smartphone from completely dead to 70 percent charged in two minutes. Moreover, the scientists say that it can last nearly 20 years before it can be replaced.

According to the scientists, the graphite that is normally used in the battery’s anode (negative pole) is replaced with a gel made from titanium dioxide which is an ingredient found in sunscreen. The substance will then stretch into nanotubes 1000 times thinner than human hair hence it speeds up the chemical reaction in the battery.

A typical lithium ion battery only last around 500 recharging cycles. However, with the new gel, the new battery can be recharged for 10,000 times. If the battery is as powerful as it is then it might solve the battery life issue that is faced for most of the smartphones nowadays. The scientists not only hope that it can improve the battery life for the smartphones, but it will also revolutionize the electric car industry which also relies on the lithium-ion batteries to charge cars.

The researchers claim that the gel is easy and cheap to manufactured and have patented the technology applied for a grant to build a large-scale battery prototype for electric car tests. If nothing goes wrong, the battery could reach the market within two years.

Smartphone Battery Goes from Dead to 70 Percent Charged in 2 Minutes? Is It Even Possible?

Algae Battery that could even charge a Tesla

Algae are being studied since long for their power generating capabilities.  Adam Freeman of the research company aLGAS has used Algae to create a prototype battery in his small lab near a lake in West Berkeley. This prototype at present consists only of a row of jars, but if it becomes successful, it could totally revolutionize battery power that is being used now.

According to Freeman, the Algae battery he is working on could generate 200 times more power than the currently used lithium-based batteries and could power even a Tesla.  The Algae battery can also charge at a faster rate and can last longer than the usual Lithium-ion batteries used in mobile phones, tablets or even the Tesla car. The Algae have paper-thin fibers through which ions can get through easily and thus charge faster, as fast as 11 seconds!

The current batteries use Lithium and as their usage grows Lithium shortages are bound to occur. Lithium demand will also shoot up as more and more electric cars are produced. China holds 95% share in the global market for supply of rare earth materials used in batteries. No other material has been discovered as yet that could replace Lithium. In such a scenario, Algae batteries could prove to be a boon.

Studies have shown that Lithium-ion batteries contain Nickel and Cobalt which can cause an adverse effect on our health and environment. People exposed to these elements could suffer from a variety of health problems including cancer.

The following figure shows how a Lithium-ion battery gets charged:

Earlier research has shown that Algae have a charge and could be used for battery power. However, how much charge Algae can produce and how much of it would be required to power various devices such as a mobile or a car has not been ascertained yet.

Freeman claims to have found the solution but needs funding to begin mass production. He needs $1500 to build the prototype and a total of $5000 to get it ready for mass production. In the prototype, Freeman uses a bio-safe polymer that binds together the Algae fibres and improves its interaction with the electron charge. A French biochemist Pierre Calleja has used Algae to power a street lamp but his experiment is also in initial stages.

If Adam Freeman’s Algae Battery project is successful, we could not only power mobile devices and cars, but also an entire house with Algae. He says, “Think of driving your car on a living battery that charges in seconds with a battery that costs almost nothing and is actually good for the environment.”

Algae Battery that could even charge a Tesla

Bio-Battery Made From Sugar Lasts 10-Time Longer Than Lithium-Ion Battery

A new research in the development of batteries has proved to be more efficient in providing the batteries that last longer and cost lesser than the lithium-ion batteries. Recently, scientists have created new form of long-lasting batteries that would help to power electronic gadgets and smartphones. This new form of bio-battery works by converting sugar substrates’ chemical energy completely into electrical energy.

The energy-storage density of this newly tested bio-battery is about 596 ampere-hours per kg. When this energy is compared with typical lithium-ion battery energy density, the magnitude is still higher as its energy density is around 42 ampere-hours per kg.

According to the an associate professor of biological systems engineering at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, YH Percival Zhang, this sugar bio-battery could last at least 10 times longer than the same weighted typical lithium-ion batteries because of its high-energy density.

This bio-battery lies under the class of enzymatic fuel cell (EFC). EFC are the electro-biochemical devices that able to form electricity by converting chemical energy of the fuels like glycogen and starch into electrical energy.

“We are first to demonstrate the complete oxidation of the bio-battery’s sugar so we achieve a near-theoretical energy conversion yield that no one else has reported,” Zhang added.

Researchers of this study claimed that sugar bio-battery has less cost as compared with the lithium-ion battery. They further reported that these batteries could be more environmental friendly.

The details of this new bio-battery have been published in journal Nature Communications.

Bio-Battery Made From Sugar Lasts 10-Time Longer Than Lithium-Ion Battery