Developments in battery technology could mean future gadgets will be equipped with batteries that have a life span that can go on for days or even months. For many years, the new features in smartphones and laptops have come at the expense of battery drainage. However, manufacturers are carrying out research and development to overcome some of the biggest barriers in battery technology which includes charge time, capacity and cost of materials.
A couple of months ago, Eta Devices researches redesigned a power amplifier using the asymmetric multilevel outphasing technology. The ultimate aim is to develop an amplifier that could revolutionize the energy efficiency of smartphone batteries. The power amplifier chip is going to double the life of the batteries, and may also be implemented in display technologies.
Another battery technology in the works is Lithium-air batteries, which rely on the oxygen present in the air for functioning. The current batteries being used in smartphones and laptops rely on anode electrode. It uses carbon as a form of energy, but carbon doesn’t have a lot of capacity for energy storage. New anode technology would triple the energy storage capacity, and could provide 80 hours of battery life for smartphones and tablets. As a result, lithium-ion-batteries may be replaced in the future, and this would reduce the extraction of rare earths. Lynas Malaysia Information has more details about the extraction process and how rare earths have been a dominant component in the production of battery and digital technology so far.
The current lithium-ion battery technology could also see some improvements. A new method of crushing silicon could triple the battery life. Research scientists Madhuri Thakur and Enginner Sibani Lisa Biswal have found that crushing silicon sponges doesn’t add any size but leads to a greater surface area. This can be used to produce batteries that last 3 times longer than the current offerings. The new technique will allow for 1000 mAh per gram. This could be the next major breakthrough, increasing the battery life for compatible gadgets up to 4 days.
CSIRO researches have also introduced UltraBattery, which uses a combination of lead-acid battery and a supercapacitor. Experiments carried out with this battery technology have indicated a life span that is four times longer and generates 50 percent more power compared to the current battery systems.
These developments in battery technology are going to address the issues of battery drainage and fundamentally change the way devices consume battery life.
