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http://pesn.com/2011/08/24/9501902_Prieto_Battery_Offers_1000x_Power_Densit/
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24, 2011 |
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Prieto Battery Offers 1000x Power Density
Amy Prieto of Colorado State University is developing a new battery technology that utilizes copper antimonide
nanowires, and an ultra thin polymer electrolyte. Once fully developed, the battery is expected to offer a huge increase in power density, a reduction in the time it takes to charge, and almost unlimited recharge cycles.
by Hank Mills
Pure Energy Systems News
Battery architecture of Prieto
Battery a lithium ion battery made with silicon nanowires |
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Batteries are used in many electronic devices such as laptop computers and flashlights. They allow power to be stored and used almost anywhere. The problem is that batteries only last a certain amount of time before they die, and then have to be recharged. If you recharge them too many times, they will get to the point they cannot hold a charge. However, a new battery technology being developed by Amy Prieto of Colorado State University holds the potential to make batteries last longer on a charge, and then recharge much more quickly.
The technology utilizes copper antimonide nanowires and an ultra thin polymer electrolyte to increase the surface area of the anode. Interestingly, twenty five million of these nanowires can fit on the surface of a penny! The cathode actually surrounds the nanowires that are coated with the electrolyte. These features allow ions to travel much more efficiently between the anode and the cathode, which increases the performance of the battery.
Once fully developed, this technology offers many advantage over today's battery technology. It could allow for up to 1000 times the power density of any known battery technology, allow the battery to be recharged in a fraction of the time of current batteries (three minutes vs twenty minutes is claimed), and would be capable of being recharged an almost unlimited number of times, without any degradation of performance.
Due to the high power density, batteries utilizing this technology would weight less than a traditional battery of the same storage capacity. This could reduce the weight of the large battery pacts used in electric vehicles. Also, the manufacturing process used to produce these batteries would be cheaper -- $250 dollars per kilowatt hour vs $600 or more dollars per kilowatt hour. In addition, it is claimed that the volume of these batteries would be one half to two thirds that of traditional batteries, for the same energy density.
All of these features sound great, but the fact is the technology is still in its early stages of development. Only very early prototypes have been constructed. A
chart can be found on the company website that shows where they are at now, and where they want to be with the final product.
If they can successfully reach their goals for the final product, this company could make a fortune. The market for rechargeable, high capacity batteries is huge, and is continuing to grow. For example, the cell phone and portable electronics market is growing as China and other nations become industrialized. Also, the re-emergence of electric vehicles is increasing the demand for cutting edge batteries. When this technology matures, they will have no shortage of customers!
Lets take a look at some of the applications.
- Power tools that don't have to be recharged as often.
- Electric bicycles that have a range of hundreds of miles.
- Electric cars that can travel across the USA with a single charge.
- Cell phones that do not have to be recharged but once a month or longer.
Prieto Battery Inc. has had some media attention in the past. They have been mentioned in Wired Magazine, the Denver Post, and elsewhere. There are links to all of these stories on their
website.
I hope this company gets the funding they need to develop their technology. The technology has a lot of potential, and could benefit our civilization.
# # #
This story is also published at BeforeItsNews.
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Page composed by Sterling
D. Allan
Last updated September 21, 2011
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