Battery that 'charges in seconds'

[glenc]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7938001.stm
A new manufacturing method for lithium-ion batteries could lead to smaller, lighter batteries that can be charged in just seconds.
Batteries that discharge just as quickly would be useful for electric and hybrid cars, where a quick jolt of charge is needed for acceleration...

[Kal]

These batteries would probably be better suited to regenerative braking in electric cars as well I guess?

[MrB]

Yup.
Batteries with the power density of lithium-ion and the almost bullet-proof ruggedness of NiCd's has been a dream of mine for some time... the A123 cells almost got there.

[glenc]

Some more details: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/03/12/2514848.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_iron_phosphate_battery

[bojan]

That was everybody's dream... sweet or sour.
Some times ago there were even rumors about such batteries, locked-up securely somewhere in Fort Knox... because oil producers industry did not want it.
Now that oil burning is increasingly unpopular (CO2 and so on), maybe they decided it is a right time to cash it..
Or this (what I wrote here) is just another conspiracy theory :shrug:

However, such battery will decrease emissions only if nuclear power is used more widely (and/or other "clean" energy sources... for charging those batteries) .

[vespine]

I don’t mean to start a fight, but I really don't get how nuclear claims to be "clean" now. Ask the people from Pripyat how clean it is, it's never been clean. The nuclear industry has pounced on this idea of "clean" like a life line ever since global warming became a major concern. Maybe it doesn't release carbon while producing its power, but that does not make it clean. It still produces a lot of carbon in the mining and processing of the materials, but that can be hidden in the details. And in my opinion the biggest concern is do you know how many permanent long term HLW (High Level Waste) storage facilities there are in the entire world? NONE. There is not a single solution to the HLW that is accumulating at 12000 metric tons a year, some of which has a half life of over 200,000 years, and some which has a half life of 17 million years. Clean indeed.

[bojan]

Me niether.
Peace on Earth.... and in Icespace as well :thumbsup:

[Glenhuon]

Its still a while off before the new batteries are viable commercially. Higher currents are needed for the quick charge and for large batteries ( Electric Cars for instance) yer standard house sockets are just not up to it. Mobile phones and computers may have them in the next few years though.

Cheers
Bill