Solid State Batteries Are The Future Of Small Tech
Small technology like cellphones and laptops currently almost exclusively run on lithium-ion battery cells, and lithium-ion is a great chemistry for devices of this size. Lithium-ion is able to charge quickly, will not need to discharge very quickly in small appliances, and has a longer battery life than any established chemistry that has been used for small devices before. While lithium is still reigning king, that may soon change with developments from the auto industry.
Many auto manufacturers have been pushing towards the future of battery technology, and after considerable progress and breakthroughs in the last 5 years, solid state batteries are nearing a point where they are ready for deployment. Toyota who is currently at the front of the charge has said they plan to have the first hybrid with solid state batteries on sale within the next 3 years
Advantages Of Solid State
Industry experts expect lithium-based battery solutions to stay at the forefront of the small tech market for at least another 5 years, after which, with current progress, solid state batteries should become the norm. As it stands, lithium-ion is a great battery chemistry, so why bother changing a system that works perfectly as it is.
- Cost – For the moment, solid state batteries are expensive as they are still in development and initial production. Looking at the materials that go into solid state batteries, when full production starts, they should be considerably cheaper than lithium-ion and you won’t need to spend all your online bingo winnings on them.
- Safety – Lithium-ion is not a safe battery chemistry. When overheated or punctured, it typically results in a fire which cannot be put out with conventional methods. Solid state on the other hand is completely inert and will not result in a fire or explosion when punctured.
- Density – Current development puts solid state batteries as 50% more dense for weight and size over lithium-ion. That means a similarly sized battery in your phone could yield double the current battery life.
- Charge/discharge – Peak charge efficiency on lithium-ion chemistry will yield a 30% to 80% charge in roughly 25 minutes. Current development shows that a solid state battery of the same power size will be able to achieve the same charge in only 5 minutes. Faster charging will be a game changer for the auto industry, but also very welcome for small technology.
- Life span – Current generation lithium-ion batteries lose, on average, 10% of capacity after the first 1000 charge cycles, where solid state batteries will lose 10% of capacity after 5000 charge cycles. For small technology, this could be a game changer. Phones especially need to be replaced because of degrading battery life; solid state batteries could make people hang on to old devices for longer than ever before.
Solid state has set out to be better than lithium-ion in virtually every way.
Drawbacks Of Solid State
At the moment, the main drawback of solid state battery technology is that it is not ready yet. All the stats given have been provided by research firms who are perfecting the technology, but it is difficult to say if it will yield the same results in the real world. Once solid state is in full scale production and has been proven good by the auto industry, small technology applications should follow soon.
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