LG Builds Working Flexible Cable Battery

MrSeb writes with news on work toward flexible batteries good enough for Real World use (you have to power those flexible electrionics somehow). From the article: "LG Chem ... has devised a cable-type lithium-ion battery that's just a few millimeters in diameter, and is flexible enough to be tied in knots, worn as a bracelet, or woven into textiles. The underlying chemistry of the cable-type battery is the same as the lithium-ion battery in your smartphone or laptop — there's an anode, a lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) cathode, an electrolyte — but instead of being laminated together in layers, they're twisted into a hollow, flexible, spring-like helix. flexible batteries have been created before — but they've all just standard, flat, laminated batteries made from sub-optimum materials, such as polymers. As such, as they have very low energy density, and they're only bendy in the same way that a thin sheet of plastic is bendy. LG Chem's cable-type batteries have the same voltage and energy density as your smartphone battery — but they're thin and highly flexible to boot. LG Chem has already powered an iPod Shuffle for 10 hours using a knotted 25cm length of cable-type battery." Original paper (Extreme Tech claims it is paywalled, but it looks like it's not). The hollow core seems to be the key: "Moreover, a nonhollow anode proved to have serious problems with penetration of the electrolyte into the essential cell components such as the separator and active materials ... However, we were able to overcome these drawbacks by devising a unique architecture comprising a skeleton frame surrounding an empty space, that is, a hollow-spiral anode with a multi-helix structure This design enables easy wetting of the battery components with the electrolyte and the hollow space allows the device to compensate for any external mechanical distortion while maintaining its structural integrity. In addition, this helical architecture possibly enables the battery to be more flexible, owing to its similarity to a spring-like structure."

Comments

Quick, somebody patent this

[Compaqt]

Before Apple 'invents' it!

Re:Quick, somebody patent this

[shutdown -p now]

Jokes aside, with all the recent patent trolling, we're beginning to forget that there are indeed genuine inventions on which a patent would be fully deserved. And this here is one of them.

At the same time, this also provides a nice contrast with your typical "one click" or "slide to unlock" patent. When you talk about why that BS shouldn't be patentable because it's so obvious, and your opponent asks for an example of something that's non-obvious, well, here it is.

Re:Quick, somebody patent this

[citizenr]

Jokes aside, with all the recent patent trolling, we're beginning to forget that there are indeed genuine inventions on which a patent would be fully deserved. And this here is one of them.

Except genuine invention would be describing particular manufacturing method of said cable battery. NOT an idea of "battery in a shape of cable used to power _mobile_ device" as apple likes to do it.

That will wear out even quicker than...

[pointyhat]

That will wear out quicker than the display cable on an 80's digital diary...

Has already powered an.... iPod Shuffle

[popo]

It's a cool technology, but the iPod shuffle can run for a billion years plugged into a potato. Can we get some actual performance data please?

Re:Has already powered an.... iPod Shuffle

[hamjudo]

The linked article shows the capacity as 1mAh per cm of length. A 20cm chunk would have 20mAh. They charge them to 4.2 volts, but I assume the nominal voltage is probably around 3.7volts. So 74milliwatt hours in 20cm.

Re:Has already powered an.... iPod Shuffle

[couchslug]

"but the iPod shuffle can run for a billion years plugged into a potato. Can we get some actual performance data please?"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potato#Nutrition

Re:Has already powered an.... iPod Shuffle

[CSMoran]

It's a cool technology, but the iPod shuffle can run for a billion years plugged into a potato. Can we get some actual performance data please?

Thing is, potato is not bendable.

Re:Has already powered an.... iPod Shuffle

[popo]

This poor deprived soul knows nothing of curly fries.

Re:Has already powered an.... iPod Shuffle

[sco08y]

It's a cool technology, but the iPod shuffle can run for a billion years plugged into a potato. Can we get some actual performance data please?

Thing is, potato is not bendable.

Pretty sure MacDonald's can figure that one out.

Double jointed fun.

[Anonymous Coward]

LG Builds Working Flexible Cable Battery

Got to power those flexible vibrators somehow.

Need high power version

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't care if it's a couple meters long, I just want a fat-ass cable made of four of these in series (possibly several parallel) with an alligator clamp on each end for jump-starting cars.

(Yeah, I know you can trivially rig up a box with IMR26700 or IFR26650 cells, or even good Li-polymer cells, to do this. But I don't want it to look like a box, I want it to look like a paraplegic jumper cable.)

Flexible Batteries

[houghi]

Perhaps finally something that makes women interested in science.

Re:Combustible clothing

[Antipater]

worn as a bracelet, or woven into textiles

Just what we need, clothing that overheats and combusts.

"Is it getting hot in here?" "OH GOD! TAKE OFF ALL YOUR CLOTHES!!"

Re:Combustible clothing

[hamjudo]

When I worked at a lithium battery factory, we were taught to call it "out-gassing", and never to think of it as "fire". This is because a fire extinguisher would be worthless against an out-gassing battery. Just as rocket engines contain the perfect ratio of fuel to oxidizer for truly spectacular, and dangerous failures, charged batteries contain all they need to ruin your day. Smothering them in water, foam, or CO2 is not going to slow them down.

This is why you don't see many lithium batteries in steel cases anymore. They figured that the pipe bomb configuration was a bad idea.

Good energy source for OLED products

[joelwhitehouse]

Flexible lithium power source combined with flexible OLED display means you could have a woven, wearable, textile display. Could be handy as a safety garment for construction workers, and probably fodder for an ugly sweater contest.

Re:Combustible clothing

[snspdaarf]

"Dry clean only. This time, we mean it."

Re:Combustible clothing

[TheEffigy]

You're wearing it wrong!

Flamable clothing?

[RecycledElectrons]

Given that the US nanny-state has outlawed pajammas that can catch fire when placed in the flame of an acetaline torch for 20 minutes, I wonder how they will respond when faced with clothing that can outgass, catch fire, and explode under the right circumstances?