Amazing: U.S. engineers have found a way to make lithium batteries that are smaller, lighter, longer lasting and capable of recharging in seconds. The researchers believe the quick-charging batteries could open up new applications, including better batteries for electric cars. And because they use older materials in a new way, the batteries could be available for sale in two to three years, a team from Massachusetts Institute of Technology reported on Wednesday in the journal Nature. This could be, as Obama likes to say, a "game changer".
See also http://priuschat.com/forums/2010-to...phosphate-batteries-charge-up-in-seconds.html which has a link to the Nature News article. The original publication was in Nature (Kang, B. & Ceder, G. Nature 458, 190– 193 (2009)).
Yeah, So cool, I just saw this on BBC website BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | Battery that 'charges in seconds' See what happens when people start looking at battery technology seriously! Gee if only we did this 10... 20... 30 years ago.
Brilliant news, this. I don't think the materials science was there 30 years ago. The computer modeling tech certainly wasn't, but you're right that if we'd been keen on this stuff we'd certainly be further along. Better late than never, I suppose. It will be interesting to see how long it takes for these developments to hit the shelf.
You can imagine what this could do to the transportation industry. Correct me if I'm wrong here - but assuming this can be engineered and deployed cost effectively, I see no real valid reason for anything but electric vehicles. Pull into a recharging station and charge up in less time than it takes to pump a gallon of gas.
One consideration: if you're going to be moving a lot of energy quickly, say enough to power a car 50 miles, you're going to need some heavy-duty cables and connectors, and even minor resistance can generate a lot of waste heat. A six-hour charge cycle can use an extension cord, a sixty-second cycle will need a big honking low resistance cable. And the EM fields could be intense.
The good news is that those are all straightforward engineering issues that will be figured out and resolved if the battery is viable. I'm convinced that a rapid charging station will have a car pull up to a "pump", a robotic connection will be made to the underside of the car, and the financial transaction will be totally authorized without needing to get out of the car or have someone come out to the car. In fact the opposite problem may occur....the store owners complaining that rapid charging does not force folks into the store to buy junk. (Note after post--That was old fashioned thinking above. Why not recharge while driving. Just pull into the "rail" lane for a charge while driving.)
How about Lithium-Titanate? Lithium-titanate battery - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia EnerDel?s Lithium-Titanate Battery Equipped Toyota Prius Gets 77mpg
