Future air-fueled battery could store 10 times more power
A new type of air-fueled battery being studied could provide up to 10 times the energy storage of designs currently available, and someday be used to power electric cars, mobile phones, and laptops, say researchers.
"Our results so far are very encouraging and have far exceeded our expectations," said professor Peter Bruce, of the University of St Andrews' chemistry department, in a news release Monday.
Diagram of the STAIR (St. Andrews Air) cell. Oxygen drawn from the air reacts within the porous carbon to release the electrical charge in this lithium air battery.
(Credit: EPSRC)According to the researchers, the new design could potentially improve the performance of portable electronic devices and provide a big boost to the renewable-energy industry. The researchers see a scenario in which the batteries will enable a constant electrical output from sources such as wind or solar. Also the STAIR (St. Andrews Air) cell could help power electric cars.
The STAIR cell is expected to be cheaper than rechargeable batteries of today, the researchers said. The new component is made of porous carbon, which is much less expensive than the lithium cobalt oxide it would be replacing.
"The key is to use oxygen in the air as a reagent, rather than carry the necessary chemicals around inside the battery," Bruce said.
The four-year research project began two years ago and is scheduled to end in June 2011. Bruce expects it will be at least five years before the STAIR cell is commercially available.
No, for 2 reasons
1) The produced oxygen can dissipate via the same porous carbon electrode - it is 2-way permeable unlike the 1-way semi/selectively permeable membranes in fuel cells
2) The rate would be small enough not to build up pressure in the cell.
interestingly this battery should get lighter as it charges, and gain weight as it discharges.
(Yes, i do know what it really is, btw)
1. too expensive
2. only available in Japan
3. works too well and killed in Dev by some corporate fool.
4. a threat to the car companies, so they will buy the idea and put it on a shelf, never to be heard of again.
Where always hearing of great & amazing new ideas.
Always just a few years away!
And then NOTHING MORE ABOUT IT EVER AGAIN!!
Realy tick's me the He** off!
because of that technology become new market for human to build something but hiding inside something. sell is one type of activity to release an abnormal movie for our own life. if we find a new technology, of course technology to make human kind better, what will we do first? sell it for free or sell it with expensive price? technology is made from brain to react what we called imagination pressure. not intelligent pressure. so the pressure have made from our brain almost react for individual purpose in what truly purpose is.
So when you say 'promising technology', that term only applies to certain application domains. For hearing aides, they are widely accepted and deployed. For vehicle applications, it is much more isolated. It is a great technology as far as volumetric power density. For high current/high power apps there are concerns with the toxicity and caustic nature of the electrolyte.
If the batteries pan out as advertised, it has the potential to change the infrastructure of the country while still giving the environmentalists the low emissions they want. Win-win-win.
- by mjtimber May 22, 2009 3:00 AM PDT
- As for the comments regarding Zinc-Air, the problem with hearing aid batteries is that they aren't rechargeable. In fact, Alkaline batteries (Duracell, Energizer, etc.) are essentially Zinc-Air batteries. It's the recharging part they were trying to improve.
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