battery tech playing catch-up with energy-hungry mobiles - lithium ion cell

Mobile devices have changed our lives, allowing us the freedom to talk, work, watch and listen on the move.
However, unplug the power from the power supply and as long as the energy in the battery remains the same, they will last for a long time.
There is friction.
When scientists constantly come up with new ways to generate and store energy --
From rhubarb and paper to viruses and urine.
In the past 50 years, there has been little change in commercial battery technology, especially compared to the devices they drive.
As Tim Probert, editor of the energy storage Press, said: "The battery industry is very conservative.
It says a lot and we still use very old techniques like lead
Acid in the battery.
"Breakthrough technology is great, but they need a realistic test --
The industry is a small, incremental improvement.
"The humble AA battery has been around since the 1940 th generation, based on 19 th century technology.
But like other alkaline batteries, it still holds 15% of the global battery market. And the lead-
Acid batteries are the basis of most internal combustion engines
The power car was invented more than 150 years ago and has a 20% share in the market.
Obviously, the value of the battery industry is close to $ 90bn (£54bn; 66bn euros)
On a global scale, the pace of innovation in consumer electronics cannot keep up. Even the near-
Rechargeable lithium everywhere
Ion batteries that power most modern gadgets were invented in the 1970 s.
Its market share is about 40%.
Tesla, the pioneer of electric vehicles, is the creative of serial entrepreneurs and billionaire Elon Musk, using so-
Called 18650 lithium battery
According to Mr Probert, "basically the old laptop battery"
Power the car.
Most laptop manufacturers have abandoned 18650 a long time ago, but Tesla believes the old technology still has a future and even plans to build its own "Gigabit factory" to produce them.
"By choosing smaller cylindrical batteries, we are able to save on manufacturing costs," explains Tesla's Laura Hardy . ".
"Smaller batteries can have better energy density, which gives us more flexibility in packaging batteries and manufacturing battery packs.
"By putting together 7,000 battery packs, Tesla's Model S sedan can reach up to 300 miles, far more than many competitors using more advanced battery technology.
Most other manufacturers use pocket-shaped batteries, including placing lithium batteries side by side like a loaf.
The danger here is the risk of "heat out of control" and one of the batteries is short-circuited
Circuit and generate so much heat that it will create a chain reaction and the battery will explode.
This is believed to be what happened to Boeing Dreamliner in Japan early last year.
Next generation lithium-
The ion battery will solve this problem by using a more secure, solid flammable liquid electrolyte
Status component.
This type of battery is also more powerful per unit.
Some companies are also trying to develop lithium.
Sulfur battery, which has five times the energy of standard lithiumion.
Mr Probert said Britain
Oxis-based energy has made some real progress in this area, but warned that we should not expect a "quantum leap" soon ".
Pure battery technology is undergoing more realistic and exciting developments.
The first is wireless power.
You can charge your gadget without plugging it into the power supply.
According to IMS Research, the market could be worth $ 5bn by 2016 (Now part of IHS).
Ossia is one of the pioneers of this new technology, which owns the Cota remote power system.
While working on wireless signal management, founder and CEO hatm Zain stumbled across the idea.
He found that a small amount of energy was transmitted next to the radio waves, and set out to study how best to concentrate signals from many antennas that work together as a means of charging the device remotely.
In 2013, more than ten years later, Mr. Zeine launched Cota.
Cota is divided into two parts
"The charger and the power receiver," Mr Zeine explained . ".
"Imagine the charger like a wireless router, and imagine the receiver as a button battery.
"The receiver sends a low power signal to the charger, and the charger sends back a signal from each of its thousands of antennas, specifically for the receiver itself.
The receiver will then keep track of the device.
"The benefits are obvious.
You no longer need to worry about charging your phone or laptop because it will charge automatically whenever it is within the Charger Range.
This means that the battery doesn't need to store that much energy, so it can be done smaller --
The holy grail of all consumer electronics manufacturers.
According to Mr. Zeine, the application of wireless charging has far exceeded the application scope of consumer electronics products, including medical equipment, production lines and buildings.
In fact, he envisioned an era in which we needed less power outlets because our homes, offices, public buildings, cars and trains would all have remote chargers installed.
Swedish company MyFC, a branch of the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, has developed Powertrekk, a portable fuel cell that can generate energy to power a variety of consumer devices.
"Our fuel cell is electricity.
A chemical device that converts hydrogen into protons and electrons.
The proton passes through the membrane and reacts with oxygen, so the only double
"The product is water," explains MyFC chief executive Björn Westholm.
Powertrekk with up to 5 watts of power is integrated with lithium-
The ion battery provides initial charging before the fuel cell takes over.
Once the device is fully charged, the fuel cell charges the battery.
This means that you can power the device with water and small Silicon sodium filling tanks anytime, anywhere.
Powertrekk is currently available in 24 countries, including the UK.
Since its launch a year ago, MyFC has sold 10,000 units.
Given the current annual sales of mobile phones and tablets at around 2 billion, "We haven't even touched the surface," Westholm said ".
While battery technology continues to grow at such a slow pace, eager entrepreneurs will have more opportunities to enhance the art of energy generation and storage.