Panasonic increases lithium-ion battery capacity by 30%

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Pushing up the battery life of the gadgets we use involves creating more efficient hardware at the same time as improving battery technology. While companies such as Intel and ARM strive to produce ever more efficient processors, Panasonic has just took a major step forward with lithium-ion battery technology.
Most Li-Ion batteries currently use a graphite anode, which limits the capacity of batteries to around 3.1Ah. By switching to a silicon alloy anode that capacity can be pushed much higher, and Panasonic’s current improvement measures 30% more capacity at 4.0Ah.
Silicon alloy anodes have proved problematic due to the high risk of structural collapse during the charge and discharge of a battery. In the past this has meant batteries created using silicon alloy just wouldn’t last long enough to be commercially viable. Panasonic has managed to overcome the problems by adjusting the way it manufactures the battery with silicon alloy. This has led to batteries that retain 80% charge even after 500 charge/discharge cycles.
Panasonic will initially roll out the batteries for use with laptops in 2012, but intends to continue developing the technology for use in vehicles. These new batteries also have a long way to go before offering their full potential. Compared to graphite, silicon alloy could allow ten-times the capacity.
 
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