Stanford Lab Rats Create New Type Of Battery

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Environmentally savvy automobile enthusiasts everywhere are undoubtedly familiar with lithium ion battery technology, as it is the standard battery system for the most popular hybrid engine layouts available commercially today. The problem with lithium ion batteries is that, in addition to the fact that using lithium metal in the batteries means that they risk of exploding at random, as demonstrated by Engadget here, a great many of them are needed to make a car function properly due to their limited storage capacity. Tesla crams some 6,831 lithium ion battery cells into every roadster that it produces. Aside from the obvious cost issues, there is the tremendous weight of that many cells, which is never a good thing for a car designed to be as fuel efficient as possible.

However, the boys at Stanford have announced that they have successfully tested an early prototype that could prove to be a serious alternative. "Lithium sulfur" technology provides up to 80% greater capacity than the lithium ion equivalent, and is significantly safer because they use a more stable form of lithium in their construction. Projections indicate that the technology could provide up to four times the amount of charge once it is fully developed. But before you get too excited (and why wouldn't you) the new batteries are only capable of lasting for between 40 and 50 cycles, instead of the 300 to 500 cycles that the average lithium ion battery lasts for. Having as little as one tenth the lifespan means they won't be showing up in cars, laptops, cell phones, or anything for that matter anytime soon.

But hey, it is certainly something to be on the lookout for in the future.

Via Engadget