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Published online 11 March 2009 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2009.156
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Lithium batteries charge ahead
Researchers demonstrate cells that can power up in seconds.
Two researchers have developed battery cells that can charge up in less time than it takes to read the first two sentences of this article. The work could eventually produce ultra-fast power packs for everything from laptop computers to electric vehicles.
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Hi, sounds reasonable- for a good research in the article the terms "SCiB" and "LTO" are lacking... http://www.greencarcongress.com/2008/10/thermal-nitrida.html
To charge a 4000mah laptop battery in 1min would require a 240amp charger!!!!!!
Not to worry. The big amp charger will be provided by another set of bright minds. Now there is a need.
Hmm, here's a provocative article from The Register which indicates this technology (and in fact, Nature's reportage) is less than meets the eye. It might be a good idea for Nature to follow-up, and to refute if necessary: www.theregister.co.uk/2009/03/12/fast_charge_battery_bubble_stab/
It is true that discharge rates are the standard for measuring battery speed, but the team also measured some full charge-discharge cycles that were just as fast. For those who are subscribers, it can be found in figure four of the paper.
So when will I get a free electric car to reforest the world with ?
This is significant, especially if these batteries can obtain a cost structure similar to li ions in the next few years, where capacity is expected to drop in price to less than $500 per kilowatthour. There is great weight and space savings for automotive applications and can, at worst, supercharge cars like the Volt with its modest 16 kilowatthour battery pack. At best, this can make battery-only electric cars practical, both in terms of recharging, thus range, and cost. We need to see to what extent these batteries can be charged/discharged, yet still exhibit a long lifespan (over 10 years),in order to assess actual costs as installed in a vehicle. Nevertheless, this is definitely good news.
It is amazing no doubt but, batteries have a max current, in order to keep it alive for some reasonable time. An AA 2500mAmph battery may deliver 2500mA and even the source of 2500mA for charging is available how long will this battery exist. This parameter is not mentioned
I have a feeling there maybe overheating problems with battery. I hope there is an external charger offered just to be on the safe side.
this is good news ... now in recent years we will have less time consuming batteries ..
well done!i like it!
Let us be pragmatic about this, and not feed excessive expectation. Such a jump has never been achieved before and I labour to understand the principles that are claimed - from 5 hours to 5 seconds is unheard of. You need to demonstare and prove your claims. Irrespective of claims and market hopes and willingness to get on your bandwagon, then show it to us in an independently verified and public exhibition. Your scale, your choice. We can work together to agree the parameters. Think obout batteries for storage of renewable energies (solar/wind). Kind regards, Joe Lapin 0(44) 7530 641612
This can be a major breakthrough; however, we should notice also the following company: "Medis technologies" (http://www.medistechnologies.biz), this company have developed a rather close application, based on fuel cells. I believe that the future does belong to such products, which led by demand.
My laptop battery is around 4000mAh @ 10.8 volts which is approximately 43.2Wh. To recharge this amount of energy at 120 volts in 1 min would only require 21.6 amps (a little more than a standard US home circuit). Give it 5 minutes to charge and you are looking at the amperage of a vacuum cleaner. >To charge a 4000mah laptop battery in 1min would require a 240amp charger!!!!!!
It's strange that the MIT website techreview has an article about this paper that doesn't even mention of charge times. Their coverage talks about discharge power currents being extraordinarily high, and comparing the technology to that of supercapacitors. Two sides of the same current coin I guess, but I find it odd that they would completely neglect the charge times being fast as well, and the coverage here at NatureNews would completely neglect the high current capabilities. Someone is missing something. Combine the two and you have the incredible high instantaneous power and recharge times of supercaps with the higher total energy capacity of lithium batteries. All using essentially the same material (LiFePo) that is being used in current generations of batteries. Seems to have potential to me. The key questions would be, can you maintain or increase the total energy capacity, and how durable is this material with repeated and deep discharges?
Also, it should be noted that the electrodes used in the proof of concept experiments described in the peer reviewed paper (and supporting material) were very thin and had a very large amount of conductive additive. Before this cathode material can be implemented in a real battery, it needs to be shown that a >30 µm thick electrode can be made of it with less than 10 mass% conductive additive. My guess is that these very interesting rate abilities will be lowered significantly in this environment. While this does not diminish the importance of the science, it has a big impact on how relevant this finding is for the battery world. Furthermore in order to have a battery that can take these rates, one must have both an anode and a cathode with the capability. Currently, graphite is used for most Li-ion battery anodes (though Lithium titanate is becoming an option), and it has not been shown to have the exceptional rate capabilities shown for LiFePO4 here. In fact, rapid charging with a graphite-based anode (especially at lower temperatures) leads to metallic lithium plating on the anode surface and the potential for cell failure (which is not pretty). Lastly, any small battery being charged with >300 Amps (the kind of current levels we are talking about here for a ~2Ah cell) is going to get hot. This heat could easily cause issues with the electrolyte (which decomposes at elevated temperatures, leading to Li consumption and capacity fade). That or the current collectors/tabs are made to be very thick, which would have a significant impact on the specific energy of the cells. While I do think this result can be used to make better batteries, I would be surprised if the claims being bandied about by the general media are possible in the near future. -Jay Whitacre, Ph.D.
America put men on the moon in less than a decade, to develop a battery efficient enough to power our cars three hundred miles per charge can be done if we put our minds and resources to the problem. JD
At fact, the time spent during charging is less important to some extent. I think the focus should be laid on excellent dynamic performance the materials deliver in the paper. It is reasonable to say that the paper will open a new view for lithium ion battery, even for rechargeable batteries after the technique is commercialized.