RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

Taken from the Guardian today

Scientists say they have invented a new battery that could fully charge a smartphone in just one minute.

The researchers have created an aluminium battery which they hope could replace the lithium models commonly found in laptops and mobile phones.

And as well as the “unprecedented charging times” of their aluminium prototype, the team said it was also safer than lithium-ion batteries as it was less prone to catching fire and more environmentally friendly than alkaline models such as AA and AAA.

Publishing the findings in the journal Nature, Hongjie Dai, a professor of chemistry at Stanford University, hailed it as a breakthrough in battery technology that went further than previous attempts using aluminium.

He said: “We have developed a rechargeable aluminium battery that may replace existing storage devices, such as alkaline batteries, which are bad for the environment, and lithium-ion batteries, which occasionally burst into flames. Our new battery won’t catch fire, even if you drill through it.

“Millions of consumers use 1.5-volt AA and AAA batteries. Our rechargeable aluminium battery generates about two volts of electricity. That’s higher than anyone has achieved with aluminium.”

The prototype was said to be more durable, withstanding more than 7,500 cycles without any loss of capacity and surpassing previous aluminium batteries which died after just 100 charge-discharge cycles, while a typical lithium-ion battery lasts about 1,000 cycles.

“This was the first time an ultra-fast aluminium-ion battery was constructed with stability over thousands of cycles,” the report’s authors wrote.

Dai added that lithium batteries could “go off in an unpredictable manner” and cited a ban by US airlines Delta and United on bulk shipments on passenger planes.

And the new design could be used to store renewable energy of the electrical grid, the researchers suggested.

Meanwhile, co-author Ming Gong said: “Another feature of the aluminium battery is flexibility. You can bend it and fold it, so it has the potential for use in flexible electronic devices. Aluminium is also a cheaper metal than lithium.”

looks good for us who like to RC and greener too

Wow! These things sound awesome.

Please excuse my doubts of the future of this development,
There are a number of multinational corporations who make massive profits every year for their shareholders because batteries are in the main short lived which gives a very healthy turnover,
Unless this battery can make up for the potential loss of money, such as costing a kings ransom then I do not see it having a commercial future, or do you think the directors of these companies have forgotten what happened to Gestetner and Kodak and many others who were overtaken by Technical advances?
Me, I hope it comes into service as soon as possible. shaun

A lot depends on how easy they are to manufacture in bulk. I see loads of "revolutionary" technologies that are far superior to whatever is on the market now, but that can't be made.
Jarndice: Whilst there are companies that won't want the technology there are many who will - Nissan, GM etc for the cars.

You are right Shaun, no mention of the price

Will be like incandescent bulbs compared to CFC compared to LED basically here in Canada running at 3X as you go up in green level!

But it must move forward no question. Here in Canada the government has actually moved to begin banning the sale of old technology light bulbs. I would love to see them do it to batteries that cannot be recharged. If we just got rid of the cheap ones it would save the environment so much...

They are banned here more or less and what happened to the price of led/green bulbs they more than doubled in price over a very short period

edpanzer wrote:They are banned here more or less and what happened to the price of led/green bulbs they more than doubled in price over a very short period

Hardly the case (being banned) just can't get the 100w ones any more.

Can't get any locally except from thE market I work in a major supermarket and they don't stock any

A local builders supplier sells 100w bulbs, the downside, you have to buy a pack of 50 minimum. shaun

Sound like a form of Super Capacitor my brother was showing me. He found a video of a guy starting his car on a mix of Caps and Lions/Lipos. These new batteries sound like a mix of lion and capacitor which would be fantastic for heavy loads and fast charging.