There is no doubt Benjamin Franklin did us all a favor by inventing electricity. It is the lifeline of all modern technology; without electricity, the world of convenience will be far from what it is now. However, the second best innovation coming from that is the guy who figured how to store electricity in portable devices we call battery that allows us to keep using technology while on the go.
Though battery technology has come a long way over the years, they still lag behind the rate at which mobile devices are becoming powerful. So you end up with this really powerful mobile device, but it keeps running out of juice fast. Sending you now and then scattering in search of an electricity wall outlet, and you know just how much you hate being stationary and ‘connected’ as you wait for a recharge.
Well, what if I told you that the next generation of battery will last at least twice as longer compared to the current one? That is what a team from MIT is saying; they have come up with an innovation that will make a battery recharge cycle take longer enabling you to scatter less frequently for the wall outlet.
It gets even better, it will be even thinner that the current version. That also mean your smartphone can be thinner and lighter. This Lithium Metal has twice the storage capacity of the battery with the lithium metal type currently in use. This battery will also give manufacturers a choice to double the charge capacity while maintaining the same battery size.
The report on this battery by MIT reads in part: “The battery essentially swaps out a common battery anode material, graphite, for very thin, high-energy lithium metal foil, which can hold more ions — and, therefore, provide more energy capacity.
Chemical modifications to the electrolyte also make the typically short-lived and volatile lithium metal batteries rechargeable and safer to use.
Moreover, the batteries are made using existing lithium-ion manufacturing equipment, which makes them scalable.”
When will you get this new Battery?
A prototype of the it has already been made by SolidEnergy Systems and is about half the size of the iPhone 6 battery. There is also a roadmap to bring the battery in smartphones and wearables that will be shipping in early 2017.
It is said, the battery technology will be first available to drone makers by November this year. There are also talks of having it in electric cars by 2018.