Immense development<\/h3>\n
And yet there has been an immense development in battery technology in recent years. Lithium-ion technology has established itself as the current standard. Today, lithium-ion batteries store twice as much energy as those first sold by Sony in 1991. And they are also ten times cheaper. <\/p>\n
For example, the energy density of notebook batteries is currently around 250 Wh\/kg and for cars, for safety reasons, between 160 and 180 watt hours per kilogram. It is generally assumed that the energy density can still be doubled at most. In addition, prices are expected to be halved again by 2020. All this, nota bene, only with the optimization of existing lithium-ion technology. <\/p>\n
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Perception of battery performance<\/h3>\n
And yet most people succumb to the feeling that not much has changed in terms of battery technology. This is mainly due to our smartphones, which we think need a lot more energy. This is nominally true at first. But if you compare early and current models, you have to come to the conclusion that this is not really true. The Nokia 3210 with its 1,000 mAh battery offered 260 hours of standby time or 4 hours of talk time. The 1,715 mAh battery of the iPhone 6 lasts around 240 hours stand-by or 14 hours of talk time. <\/p>\n
What has changed, however, is that we no longer (only) use the devices as phones. However, the perception of battery performance has suffered so much that most people have the feeling that batteries have not improved. But the fact is: If we only had the batteries of the “Nokia 3210 generation” the smartphone as we know it today would be neither possible nor affordable. <\/p>\n
The curse of different dimensions<\/h3>\n
There are various reasons why battery technology is not simply advancing exponentially. Firstly, there is the basis: there are chemical and physical limits, because every electron that is to be stored in the battery needs (to put it simply) an atom (or molecule) with which it can be bound. However, each atom can only bind a limited number of electrons. In purely physical terms, this results in the maximum amount of energy stored in the battery. <\/p>\n
In addition, batteries should have different properties that physically compete with each other:<\/p>\n
Capacity<\/u><\/p>\n
A battery should have as high a nominal capacity as possible.<\/p>\n
Energy density<\/u><\/p>\n
The energy density defines how much energy the battery can release per unit of mass or volume. This means that an extremely powerful battery is not much use for many mobile applications if it is very large or very heavy or both. <\/p>\n
Loading time<\/u><\/p>\n
The charging time of a battery is of great importance for almost all applications and must be placed in context with other battery requirements. For example, the importance of the charging time is directly dependent on the energy density: the further a car can drive on one battery charge, the less important the time required to recharge the battery becomes. <\/p>\n
Durability<\/u><\/p>\n
Batteries lose their performance over a certain number of charging cycles. For most commercial applications, this limitation is no longer a real problem, depending on how the battery is used. <\/p>\n
Security<\/u><\/p>\n
Lithium-ion batteries in particular are sensitive and can catch fire under certain circumstances. This must be taken into account during development. <\/p>\n
Recyclability<\/u><\/p>\n
A battery should be as recyclable as possible. Today’s lithium-ion batteries can be recycled surprisingly well. In an EMPA<\/a> study entitled “Contribution of Li-Ion Batteries to the Environmental Impact of Electric Vehicles<\/a>“, the scientists conclude that of the total environmental impact created by an electric car, only 15% is attributable to the batteries. Half of this, i.e. 7.5 % of the total impact, relates to disposal. <\/p>\n In Switzerland, 70% of all lithium-ion batteries are already recycled today. What many people don’t know: Batteries that can no longer be used in cars can still be useful in stationary applications. This means that a battery is not simply broken or ok, but loses performance and is therefore no longer suitable for certain purposes. The EMPA scientists had not taken this effect into account. <\/p>\n For these reasons, we do not see any rapid breakthroughs in the further development of battery technology. It is simply complex. <\/p>\n However, research and development is being carried out on a broad front. Because few things are as worthwhile as battery technology. Many people have no idea how a greatly improved and cheaper battery will change our world. <\/p>\n Mobility<\/u><\/p>\n Very obvious, of course, due to the development of Tesla. But other manufacturers are now also launching cars on the market. For example Chevrolet with the Bolt<\/a> model, which has a range of around 300 km and comes onto the market at a price of around US$ 35,000. Even though fuel cell initiatives have been launched again recently, it will become clear in the long or short term that electricity is currently the best available option(here Elon Musk explains why<\/a>) <\/p>\n Aviation<\/u><\/p>\n We have been dreaming of personal flying devices for a long time. Recently, there have been various projects that have already presented advanced prototypes<\/a>. The EHANG 184<\/a> presented at CES16 currently has a maximum flight time of 23 minutes. That is far too short. However, as soon as better batteries are available, such aircraft could indeed become widespread and fast. And we would then have our “flying cars”, as we know them from the sci-fi films. At last. <\/p>\n Energy supply<\/u><\/p>\n Better batteries are also leading to a rethink of the energy supply system. There is a gradual realization that it makes sense to generate electricity as decentrally as possible (primarily through photovoltaics). So far, development has been slow because the electricity could not be stored. A home battery(as presented by Tesla a few months ago<\/a>) could actually achieve a breakthrough here. It enables homeowners to produce and consume electricity autonomously for the most part. At greatly reduced costs. Such a system has an incredible number of advantages. <\/p>\n What is planned<\/u><\/p>\n However, by far the greatest impact will be on devices and gadgets that have so far only been considered and not implemented due to a lack of sufficient battery elements. For example, greatly improved battery technology is the basis for so many developments in robotics, cybernetics, IoT, medicine and research. There are very few areas in which a super battery would have no impact. <\/p>\n And so battery technology remains widely underestimated. This is typical of so-called enabler technologies<\/a>. No matter which sector you work in. I can only advise you to keep an eye on battery developments. And to invest. You can’t go wrong, except perhaps by being too impatient. <\/p>\n Artikel auf Social Media teilen:<\/p>\n<\/div>The key to fundamental change<\/h3>\n
Underestimated technology<\/h3>\n