Scientists at M.I.T (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) has presented a new technology that will make it possible to create incredibly efficient batteries. The new super-batteries can be charged up to several hundred thousand times without starting to deterioate and a recharge will take just a few seconds instead of the hours we’re used to today. To solve this seemingly tricky problem they’ve gone past today’s batteries using chemical reactions to create energy and instead taken a closer look at an old invention, the capacitor. A capacitor can store energy/electricity as an electric charge and can be recharged much faster than regular batteries.
The problem with capacitors is that they can store relatively little energy on a given surface, I.e. a capacitor contains about 25 times less energy than a battery of the same size. To work around this problem the scientists at M.I.T. have used nanotubes to cover the capacitor with and in that way managed to increase the storage density.
“Each nanotube is 30,000 times thinner than a human hair. Similar to how a thick, fuzzy bath towel soaks up more water than a thin, flat bed sheet, the nanotube filaments increase the surface area of the electrodes and allow the capacitor to store more energy. Schindall says this combines the strength of today’s batteries with the longevity and speed of capacitors.”
The result will be batteries that can be recharged in less time and more times than chemical batteries. Something that would work perfect with many industries, but perhaps especially the car industry where electric motors could get a significant boost. The prototype they are now working on is expected to be ready in a few months and in less than five years they hope to be able to launch the technology commerically.
