Eco Factor: Energy-saving battery technology will enable lithium batteries to recharge in mere seconds.
Portable batteries are the backbone of the technology-dependent world of today. Be it cars or portable gadgets that we rely on, so much is all powered by small batteries. Though efficient and zero-emission, batteries take a long time to charge depending on their size. While cellphones and PMPs are charged in a couple of hours, car batteries need a full night of charging. MIT like always is out to make things better, with a new technology that can allow batteries to get recharged in not hours, not even minutes but simply seconds.
The researchers associated with the discovery knew that lithium ions do move very quickly in lithium iron phosphate, a material commonly used in batteries. However, they only do so if the ions are directly in front of the tunnel accessed from the surface. Things start to go bad when the ions are misplaced and are prevented from reaching the tunnel entrance. The problem was solved by developing a new surface structure that does allow the lithium ions to move quickly around the outside of the material, allowing an ion traveling along this beltway to be instantly diverted into the tunnel, rather than preventing it from doing so.
Apart from easing the charging time of batteries, this new material doesn’t degrade with charging and discharging cycles and could lead to smaller and lighter batteries. The technology is fully developed and researchers believe that the work could make it into the marketplace within two or three years.
The Dark Side:
As of today the time taken by batteries to recharge isn’t the only hurdle preventing a global adoption. The price of these batteries is another constraint that needs some work. The new technology developed by MIT seems good, but its effect on the price of the batteries might pull things down.
