Scientists can now make lithium-ion batteries last a lifetime

Found something you guys might be interested in.


Read more: http://www.computerworld.com/articl...ke-lithium-ion-batteries-last-a-lifetime.html

(Sorry if this is in the wrong spot. Please move if needed. I saw the article, and thought of you guys.)

I'm just throwing stuff against the wall here, but in the article, they're stating that typical nanowires (uncoated) last upwards of 2000 cycles, but the new coated ones will possibly yield 200,000 cycles.

Sound great, but is this a solution looking for a problem?

Isn't high internal resistance the real issue/culprit, or drying up electrolytes and not some nanowire breaking?

Thanks for the link, though.

Chris

Well, they're not saying anything about the development of high resistance, but up until now, at least Li-Ion batteries are also losing capacity over time, not just gaining internal resistance. If they now get that many cycles out of a battery, I do think this is a solution for some problems... I'm particularly thinking about electric vehicles here which may be recharged every day but still should endure 10-15 years of service. Conventional Li-Ion batteries have problems with that at least in some car models where the batteries don't get cooled, as the problems of Nissan Leaf cars in Arizona show. And all the other parts of electric cars should typically last much longer than those of gasoline cars, only the batteries don't... until now. So I hope this breakthrough becomes a reality... after all, some countries (at present Norway and the Netherlands, as far as I know) are already considering banning the sale of gasoline vehicles, allowing only electric cars from 2030 on or so.

On the other hand, if you've got such a long-lasting battery, this will probably give rise even more to the practice of built-in batteries that aren't replaceable, as Apple does it with their iPhones, and other manufacturers do as well in such devices as toothbrushes and shavers. And they don't say if the batteries built this way still age at the same rate as conventional ones (even if they endure more cycles across that time).

ChrisGarrett said:

I'm just throwing stuff against the wall here, but in the article, they're stating that typical nanowires (uncoated) last upwards of 2000 cycles, but the new coated ones will possibly yield 200,000 cycles.

Sound great, but is this a solution looking for a problem?

Isn't high internal resistance the real issue/culprit, or drying up electrolytes and not some nanowire breaking?

Thanks for the link, though.

Chris

Click to expand...

I see no evidence that my AW batteries won't last forever.

I think it's a capacitor, it's a lithium battery, it's a capacitor. I'm a little unclear about what it is, if there's a chemical reaction or if it's an electrostatic charge?

Good thing we have qualified scientists with extensive experience doing battery research.

Gold nanowires... as if the cost of electric vehicle batteries wasn't high enough already, and conspicuously missing is any mention of power density. It seems likely that the best application would be deep space probes, not powering our relatively short lifespan disposable consumer electronics or automobiles.

Deep space probes use Radioisotope thermoelectric generator

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioisotope_thermoelectric_generator

RTG with inherent immediate current limitations that could be overcome for periodic tasks needing more power, with a near infinitely long lasting battery to buffer it.