Friday, 27 February 2009

SunCat Batteries Are Self-Charging, Wrapped In Solar Cells.

Using rechargeable batteries is a great way to cut down on the waste we produce and to save money at the same time, but you need to be organized and keep a charger on hand. Well, inventor Knut Karlsen has come up with a clever solution that crosses a solar charger and a rechargeable cell to make, what is essentially, a self-charging battery.

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Wednesday, 3 December 2008

Ulvac: First To Mass-Produce “Safe” Next-Gen Lithium Battery

Japan’s Ulvac Inc have become the first to put next-generation, solid-state, thin-film lithium batteries into mass production, providing a “safe” alternative to current lithium-ion tech due to the absence of liquid electrolyte in the cells.

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Tuesday, 4 November 2008

Hydrogen Fuel Tanks Could Be Lighter Than A Battery

A Dutch researcher, Robin Gremaud has demonstrated a breakthrough discovery that could smash one of the biggest hurdles standing in the way of a hydrogen economy – the weight of the heavy duty fuel tanks required to hold the gas. Gremaud has shown that a lightweight alloy of the metals magnesium, nickel and titanium is fantastic at storing hydrogen and offers an alternative to the hydrogen sponge also in development.

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Wednesday, 13 August 2008

Zpower Silver-Zinc Battery Trumps Li-Ion On Safety, Charge And Run Time

Zpower have announced that their impressive silver-zinc battery technology will be coming to market in 2009 in a major notebook computer. According to the company, the technology can provide up to 40% longer run-time than Lithium-ion cells and also have a faster recharge time. Silver-zinc cells contain zero lithium and are over 95% recyclable.


Zpower, a company that counts Intel Capital as one of their investors, have also said they are in talks with several high profile OEMs to introduce silver-zinc batteries in future cell phones and laptops. They claim that their new cells have the highest power density of any battery in the consumer market.


The cells are inherently safe with water-based chemistry that is non-flammable. This factor should prove popular amid growing concerns over the safety of Li-ion cells, due to numerous incidents where they have caught fire or exploded.

Another factor that works in silver-zinc’s favor is the large potential for further increases in performance. Development in Li-ion cells seems to have reached a plateau, with scientists having trouble squeezing any more performance from the technology.

Silver-zinc cells are, as the name suggests, primarily composed of silver and zinc – both of which are fully recyclable. These two materials also maintain their quality and are simple to extract, enabling reuse many times over and reducing the need to mine for new metals.

Silver-zinc cells may well be the future if they perform as claimed. There is no word on whether they suffer from the memory effect which plagued earlier NiCd batteries, but I would assume that they do not, as they would never gain acceptance in today’s marketplace.



Sources:
Zpower, Electronista, TechRepublic