We have all experienced the frustration of a dead phone…and it always seems to happen when we need it most. Unfortunately when your mobile phone’s battery runs flat, there is no quick and easy solution, unless of course you just happen to be carrying a power bank device with you. Up until now, the frustration of finding a power source to recharge has been something that we have had to live with, but researchers at Stanford University have struck gold! Their breakthrough is somewhat of a phenomenon for those who spend many of the hours in their day on the phone. They have come across a development that might mean fast-charging and long lasting batteries are a realisation of our very near future!
Better batteries could just be in our near future!
While technology in general has been developing, battery innovations have remained sluggish until recently. From sound powered to the power of friction, solar to over the air charging, technology and car companies have been feeling the pressure to power up.
The ultra-fast rechargeable aluminium-ion battery was featured along with the findings of the Stanford University, in the April 6th edition of Nature. How did the researchers stumble across this potential? Apparently they were testing various materials to act as a cathode and when they began experimenting with graphite, their discovery was made. A quick experiment showed that they could use one of the aluminium-ion prototypes to charge a battery similar to those found in smartphones, in less than one minute. It takes a lithium-ion battery at least 60 times that amount of time to charge which makes this discovery exceptional!
Of course how fast the battery charges is not the only thing to be wowed by. The unit can experience approximately 7500 charge/discharge cycles before it will lose its power capacity. When compared to lithium-ion batteries, which can only withstand up to 1000 of the same cycles, the new Stanford battery is certainly impressive. What’s more is that aluminium-ion batteries seem safer in that they are not nearly as flammable as their lithium-ion counterparts are known to be.
Like any new product on the market, there are teething problems and potential downfalls which must be worked through before these types of batteries can be produced on a large scale for mobile phone use. And so we leave the development of a potential masterpiece in the hands of the exceptional researchers at Stanford and other Universities now in the race…eagerly awaiting what could be!
At Soteria Cloud we are proud to be part of a time where such advancements in technology are occurring. We would love to know what you think of this development! Let us know.