Ionic Materials Ever
since its inception in the 1990s, Lithium-ion batteries have been the prefered
choice of manufacturers, finding their way into a range of portable devices
that require a rechargeable power source.
Applications have ranged from powered banks that propel vehicles
to slivers of battery that are used in slim smartphones. However in recent
years, it is clear that liquid Lithium-ion technology is quickly becoming
outdated and is struggling with sustaining the pace of today's fast-moving
technology sectors, especially the smartphone market. The push to pack devices
with higher capacities and make them last longer have led to rampant cases of
unstable batteries. These last several months have especially witnessed
high-profile cases of batteries exploding either due to being faulty, punctured
or damaged.
Michael Zimmerman of Ionic Materials, an expert in polymer
innovation and semiconductor packaging, has spent the last four years
developing a possible solution to power hungry devices. The result is the first
solid lithium polymer battery that will never explode even if you literally
take a hammer and drive a nail through it.
The new generation of batteries use flexible polymer packaging
that enables the units to be used in unconventionally shaped molds.
The endeavour was possible owing to a $3 million contract
granted to Ionic Materials by the United States Department of Energy. “My dream
is to create the holy grail of solid batteries,” said Zimmerman. He plans to
build a consumer version of the product within the next two years.
Unlike other electrical technologies such as processor or even
storage, the rate of innovation in the battery space has significantly lagged.
Even as far back as across the past 150 years, the number of battery technologies
that have been assimilated into mass production are barely in the lower single
digits. From lead acid, to zinc-carbon, to nickel-cadmium to lithium ion, the
capacities as well as recharge characteristic improvements have not been
dramatic.
Liquid-based Lithium-ion batteries had caused quite the
commotion over the past year - anyone familiar with Samsung will know that
their flagship smartphone - the Note 7 - didn't quite bring in the revenue and
more importantly the reliability that the company expected. On the contrary the
company reported a loss estimated to be about $5 billion, all due to the faulty
batteries used in these flagship devices. Since the first report of the
smartphones exploding, Samsung has launched its own investigation into the
matter. Unfortunately the company was unable to locate the precise cause of the
combustible batteries but experts believe that a safety defect caused the two
electrodes to internally touch one another, causing the batteries to overheat
and explode.
Source: DNA-14th-December-2016
