Lithium Ion Battery

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have created a revolutionary battery that can be charged in just 10 seconds. As well as saving hassle in household appliances, a development that could usher in a new era of electric cars.

The new technology involves lithium-ion batteries which are common in laptop computers and cellphones because they can carry a high level of charge in proportion to their weight. The batteries work by the movement of ions and electrons which create a circuit.

The researchers discovered that iby adding a new substance, lithium ion phosphate, to the dense material inside such batteries, significantly speeding up the flow of ions because they could pass through tiny tunnels in the material’s surface.

It means electric cars owners would be free to drive long distances, withour worrying about running out of power as they could top up their battery in a few minutes at a service station.

The enhancements also extended the battery’s lifespan and allowed it discharge many times faster, according to the study published in the latest issue of the journal Nature. This would allow faster acceleration in an electric car.

“Electric car batteries have a lot of energy so you can drive at 55mph for a long time, but the power is low. You can’t accelerate quickly,” said Dr Gerbrand Cedar, who devised the new battery.

“The ability to charge and discharge batteries in a matter of seconds rather than hours may open up new technological applications and induce lifestyle changes,” Dr Ceder was quoted as saying by the Mail online.

An electric could be recharged in the same time it now takes to fill up a conventional car with petrol, however, the catch is that normal household power supply isn’t up to the task of delivering the power fast enough for the battery to charge at top speed. To rapidly charge a car would require special recharging stations built with greater a output capacity.
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