New Lithium-ion Technology Claims Week Long Battery Charge For Smartphones
According to a new report by BBC, engineers at Northwestern University are working on lithium-ion batteries that house the potential to charge a wireless device 10 times faster, and hold a charge 10 times longer than current batteries found in today’s market. Northwestern University engineers claim that the method could result in a smartphone battery going from completely dead to fully charged in just 15 minutes, and has the potential to stay completely charged for an entire week.
The group of engineers claim that changing the density and movement of the lithium ions were essential factors in making the new technology work. This was created by using different materials to build the battery. One noted downside to the new lithium-ion batteries is that the increases in charge do decrease after 150 recharge cycles. Even with this noted, however, the batteries are still expected to be five times more efficient than any batteries we use in today’s smartphones and other wireless devices.
So when can we expect to see our smartphones sport these awesome batteries? Well, as it stands now the engineers are still working to improve the technology, and anticipate the batteries to reach retail store within the next five years. Looks like we’ll be slaves to our chargers for just a little while longer.
Hopefully, it won’t take up to 3-5 years. If this technology is viable, then it should be researched through a shared system. Although the patent would be the Uni’s, but companies could participate in the advancement, thus enabling them to use the technology earlier. And if this can be used on larger batteries as well, then electric cars can finally appear everywhere.