Sony Creating Sulfur-Based Batteries With 40% More Capacity Than Li-Ion (hothardware.com)

MojoKid writes: Since the original iPhone was released in 2007, we have seen some incredible advances in smartphone processing power along with a wealth of feature improvements like faster Wi-Fi and cellular speeds and larger, higher resolution displays. However, battery technology, for the most part, hasn't kept up. There are a few major battery suppliers but Sony is currently an underdog, commanding just 8 percent of the market for compact lithium-ion batteries. Its three largest competitors — Samsung (SDI), Panasonic and LG Chem — each command around 20 percent of the market. In an effort to change that, Sony is developing a new type of battery chemistry that can boost runtimes by 40 percent compared to lithium-ion batteries of the same volume. Sony's batteries use a sulfur compound instead of lithium compounds for the positive electrodes, reportedly allowing for much great energy density. Sulfur batteries can also supposedly be made 30 percent smaller than traditional lithium-ion cells while maintaining the same run times. The company is now working to ensure that the new battery chemistry is safe enough for commercial use.

Comments

Re:Another day, another future battery tech story

[rtb61]

Most of those announcements covered incremental improvements. The reality is if government were serious and not themselves governed by corporate greed, they would do what they have done in war time, suspend all patents and force corporations to work together with universities and the government in order to achieve the best possible battery in the shortest possible time and then sort out the patents. Nope, greed first, last and everything in between because most democratic governments are no longer in reality democratic and actual public interests take last place.