Sony Ion-Lithium Battery (Photo : Twitter)
Batteries have been one constant weak spot in all smartphones today whether it is an Android or an iOS device but a new tech may soon double the life in the next few months.
SolidEnergy Systems, which was founded by MIT alumnus Qichao Hu, managed to develop the tech for the rechargeable lithium metal battery with double the capacity compared to today's lithium ion batteries found in almost all electronic devices. The battery is "anode-free" which doubles the energy density while still being safe for everyday use in electronics.
Hu said that the new lithium metal battery is half the size but still has the same amount of energy of lithium-ion batteries, the press release stated. Since it will be made as the same size as today's batteries, it will be able to hold twice the power.
In theory, a 3000mAh Li-ion battery could be beaten with 6000mAh from the lithium metal battery developed by SolidEnergy Systems. There are also chemical modifications made to the electrolyte to make the whole battery safer to use over time even under heavy charge and discharge cycles.
SolidEnergy Systems aim to be able to commercialize their Lithium metal battery next year and the first batch could be used as early as by the end of this year through drones, Android Headlines reported. Other applications such as for smartphones and electric cards are also planned in the near future.
For smartwatches, the battery may pave the way for users not being required to charge the devices for a whole month or longer. They typically do not use much power but it could also lead to better screens and more powerful hardware considering that there will be more juice to consume.
Smartphones may last for two days or even a whole week at a time with the new Lithium metal batteries hopefully even under heavy Wi-Fi and screen brightness use. Hu is even planning to beat Tesla in developing an electric car battery that can last up to 400 miles before it needs to be recharged again at the nearest charging station which is one of the weaknesses of the vehicles.
