When is the next breakthrough of battery technology?

No matter how things change, there are some constant we seem to have become accustomed to, that is battery technology. Enhance the performance, increase resolution, improve photograph skill, but there is no big breakthrough on cycle life.

We of course have the means to improve the battery life of mobile phones, as long as the battery is doing more to go, but this is the most brutal way, cell phone is so big, after all. Almost all of the technical research can throw money and time to solve, battery technology that important, it's not worth the giant investment?

The solution sounds simple, but it is not the case. Spend a lot of money, hire the best scientists, have enough patience, this is not the key to solve the problem. The problem is that to build a higher energy density of battery, involved will be a new field of science.

This imperial dyson engineering college professor Billy wu explains that Moore's law in simple terms, is that every few years transistor will become smaller, let the chip can hold more, thus improve the processing capacity.

Batteries are not." In the field of microprocessors, everything just to put the things made smaller. But in the lithium ion batteries side, if you want to improve the energy density, in other words, to increase the battery life of mobile phones, in that you will have to fundamentally change the battery materials."

This is certainly not "that change materials bai" so simple, because the balance of internal materials even if there is a little wrong can lead to serious problems.

Now so many accidents, remind us as soon as there will be how serious accident. Professor wu said the existing combination of nickel, cobalt, manganese may change in the next few years. Because nickel are more active, it will be increased, the proportion of the increasing power.

Of course, just change it still need several years of testing to ensure stability and security. It is said that, if successful, life can have a 10% to 20% improvement. People waiting for so many years, however, such as to improve and time doesn't seem to fit. The real breakthrough of battery technology is asing if is people chasing an impossible dream.

The difficulties

With scientists, battery technology is a kind of "the art of chaos", so to speak. What makes it develop so slowly, largely because almost every little bit of progress or change, all need through a large number of experiments and tests, to ensure the security and stability. Even found is very helpful to improve the energy density of the material, you can guarantee that it can really use.

For example, recently it was found that compared with the graphite in the battery now, silica gel appears to be a better material. Its energy density is ten times the graphite, means that if our phones now lasts one day, silica gel battery can keep the cell phone for ten days. The problem is that battery becomes a dangerous explosives.

Why is this so? When the battery charge and discharge, about 10% of graphite can expand and contract. We can deal with 10%, but the silicone on it can reach 300%.Don't want to know, the battery should how dangerous it is.

It was also because of this, battery technology research inputs can't see the bottom of the hole, so despite many scientists in the world, enterprises and research institutions in the tireless research, but can't see the future in their own way that these efforts are always, forming a cooperation within the scope of the industry.

More importantly, Samsung GalaxyNote7 shocked the industry a series of events, which also makes them become more cautious in the study, pay more attention to every step of the test. Industry insiders said the many manufacturers have begun to hold fluky psychology, to push the battery energy density increase. Battery case is a reminder, forcing all the rhythm of the slow down - and, of course, pay attention to safety is definitely a good thing.

We can see progress?

So the question: since breakthrough progress has been so slow, when can we see the arrival of the progress? It is interesting to note that the answer is after a long time, but as if it's not so long.

"To develop a new chemical process takes about 10 years, the investment of 100 million pounds, so it is in the field of economic scale and the microprocessor than not." Professor wu said.

Moreover, ten years is only the first stage. Next to spend 10 years, constantly testing and improvement, and let new technology enough safety and stability, otherwise the application will not be able to put it on the commercial. The simplest example of lithium ion battery of the related research results for the first time in 1980, published at Oxford University. Until the 1990 s, SONY commercializes the technology for the first time.

"We have another kind of chemical solution, but it still needs some time to arrival. People have been talking about the sulfur or silica gel as a new material of the battery. In addition there is a known as lithium air batteries could be the final solution. However before it perfect need one or two more than 10 years of time." Professor Wu said.

10 or 20 years for each and every one horribly long, but before heard those desperate situation, as if also is not so long. More importantly, manufacturers to patchy progress and optimize will certainly there is.

Although battery technology is in a short period of time can't breakthrough, but after all other technology to progress. As phones continue to enhance performance, resolution and even up to the level of 4 k, all these put forward strict requirements for energy consumption optimization.

7 to 10 nanometers or even nanometer technology has been on the agenda. OLED screen can effectively reduce energy consumption. Optimization of various software level have become the compulsory course.

The page contains the contents of the machine translation.