The Future of Batteries

The future of batteries is quite promising and manufacturers are already working on new concepts. Currently, lithium ion batteries are embedded in most computing devices but alternative batteries like fuel cells and nanotechnology based cells are under research and may start powering our devices in another 2-3 years. The general goal of engineers is to design batteries that can save more energy on a single charge, be quick charging and be light weight.

Fuel Cell

Fuel cell technology is being used in some next generation batteries. This is clearly evident as they have already made their way into cars. Nowadays we see many hybrid vehicles running on fuel cells (only for research).

The principle of the fuel cell is similar to other batteries, relying on electrochemical reaction to produce energy except that the fuel source acts as an electron source. In fuel cells, hydrogen and oxygen react with fuel like methanol to produce power. The constant flow of chemicals and the continuous reaction helps the battery to attain power. Like similar batteries the cell need not to be charged frequently, just open the battery and pour the fuel, for example methanol, to initiate its reaction. Researchers (in papers) state that you can run your notebook for 20 hours with a single fuel cell; however, this technology is expensive and is still under research. But it’s a promising technology for mobile computing.

Fuel cells have several advantages over traditional batteries, such as the fact that these cells purely rely on a chemical reaction to produce energy, making them environment friendly. Fuel cells do have a negative aspect, chemical reaction always produces thermal energy so, and the fuel cell gets warm quickly. Methanol that is currently used as fuel is toxic but alternate fuels like ethanol are also under research to produce these cells.

Recently Wibrain, a UMPC manufacturer, partnered with NeoSolar and MTI Micro to provide an alternate fuel for Wibrain UMPCs. The UMPC can be powered by direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC) that eliminates the need for batteries. This is an early sign of this technology being applied to computing.

Nanotechnology based Batteries

Nanotechnology is a recent technology that employs nano particles to perform a reaction. Many manufacturers are experimenting with this technology and it’s got a long way to go before being commercialized.

A123Systems has developed a new generation lithium ion battery based on nanotechnology that provides more power, is safer and has a longer life. The battery can offer ten times more life, five times the storage capacity and can charge 90% of the battery charge in just five minutes. The battery employs environment friendly components that en able safer power regeneration and thermally stable reactions.

Another prototype designed by Bell Labs has droplets of electrolyte that stay in dormant state and are only activated to react to produce electricity.

The future of these kind of batteries promises more storage capacity with shorter charging times and light weight designs. In the mean time, here are some tips to get the most of out of your batteries commonly found in mobile devices.