Want A Better Battery??

Want a better battery then today's Lithium Ion (LiON) rechargeable's?? How about a battery that:

1) Lasts 10 times longer then today's LiON's
2) Works at temperatures of -30C (-22F)
3) Has a power density of 4.2 AH @ 2.4 volts
4) Will charge to 90% in five minutes
5) Is safe from rupture or ignition

This "dream" battery is called a Super Charge ion Battery (SCiB) and is being developed by Toshiba. It will power a Cannondale bicycle called the Schwinn Tailwind next year.

Check it out at these websites:

http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/other/...of_Breakthrough_Super_Charge_ion_Battery.html

http://www.ubergizmo.com/15/archive...b_for_notebooks_gets_a_90_charge_in_10mn.html

http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/09/toshibas-super.html

http://www3.toshiba.co.jp/sic/english/scib/index2.htm

What do you think about adapting this for flashlight use??

I wonder if they can adapt it to cars?

Bill

No comment about sizie&weight/capacity which will be one of the determining features for flashlight use. If it is on the order of the A123 cells, then it will be useful.

Semiman

SemiMan said:

No comment about sizie&weight/capacity which will be one of the determining features for flashlight use. If it is on the order of the A123 cells, then it will be useful.

Semiman

Click to expand...

In their specs page we can find some additional information:

Nominal Voltage: 2.4 V
Nominal Capacity: 4.2 Ah
Size: Approx. 62 x 95 x 13mm
Weight: Approx. 150 g

In the standard format it won't be useful for flashlights.

I can see it in some awesome packs for lanterns which are designed for larger cells.

Edit:

Rough math...4 of these will fit in the same space as a standard 6V lantern battery. You could wire them in series for 9.6V, in parallel for 16.8aHeek or split them up and do 4.8V at 8.4aH.

linterno said:

In their specs page we can find some additional information:

Nominal Voltage: 2.4 V
Nominal Capacity: 4.2 Ah
Size: Approx. 62 x 95 x 13mm
Weight: Approx. 150 g

In the standard format it won't be useful for flashlights.

Click to expand...

Uh? 150g for 10 watts?
CR123 carry 4.5 watts in 17g.
Cellphone battery is like 40x50x5mm and they provide 3.6watts.

I dont see how this has 10x more power than li-ions.

It sounds like a li-ion/super-cap cross-breed. Nothing too special, typical tradeoff we are seeing. nano-LiFePO4 was a similar type of leap, lots more POWER density but half the energy density of regular LiCo cells.

Eric

Well I just wrote up a bit of math comparing those to an 18650 but because of a logout for some reason it was all eaten up.
So I'll summarize.

The specs given are wrong... or else an 18650 has hilariously more energy density than these new cells based.


Also I'd add that the 10X life is marketing crud. They don't mean the cell will run a device 10 times longer. I suspect they're talking about the service lifetime of the cell. A LiIon has a lifetime of around 3+ years. Or around 500 charge discharge cycles. So we could guess that the new cells may have a 10 year life or around 5,000 cycles. Just a guess but I'd bet money that energy density isnt 10x more.

There is probably NOT any error in those specs, a common lithum cobalt cell probably DOES out-perform the cell dramatically in the density department,,,

Also, keep in mind that most modern LiCo cells are lasting longer than 3 years if used lightly, and cycle life if done properly can be 500+.....

Eric

donn_ said:

I can see it in some awesome packs for lanterns which are designed for larger cells.

Edit:

Rough math...4 of these will fit in the same space as a standard 6V lantern battery. You could wire them in series for 9.6V, in parallel for 16.8aHeek or split them up and do 4.8V at 8.4aH.

Click to expand...

That's not awesome.

NiCad F cells will give 8Ah right now. NiMH F cells, even more...

lctorana said:

That's not awesome.

NiCad F cells will give 8Ah right now. NiMH F cells, even more...

Click to expand...

Can you recharge them to 90% in five minutes?