Researchers at the Fraunhofer Research Institution for Electronic Nano Systems ENAS in Chemnitz led by Prof. Dr. Reinhard Baumann have unveiled tiny, printable batteries that they hope to put into production for pennies apiece. The new battery prototype is primarily composed of a zinc anode and a manganese cathode that can be screen printed and covered with a non-printed template cover. Each mercury-free battery weighs less than one gram, and can individually produce about 1.5 volts of electricity. By placing several batteries side by side, however, up to 6 volts can be generated. The institute has already produced these little power houses in the lab, and hopes to see them into production by the end of the year. The batteries have a relatively short lifespan, making them suitable for applications such as powering greeting cards
Tracy Jones-Harris Science & Design Batteries, Fraunhofer Research Institution, Printable Batteries, Tiny Batteries
Kodak’s already taken some steps to cut down on counterfeiting of its batteries, and it looks like Panasonic is now taking some fairly drastic measures of it own, which could leave some users of its cameras a tad unhappy. Apparently, the company has determined that some third-party batteries amazingly don’t meet its own rigid safety standards, so it’s now released a new firmware update that can detect said batteries and prevent them from working. At the moment, that only includes cameras that use DMW-BCF10, DMW-BCG10, or DMW-BLB13 battery packs (some sixteen cameras in all), but it seems safe to assume that this’ll soon be standard practice on all Panasonic cameras.
Tracy Jones-Harris Uncategorized Batteries, Conterfeiting, DMW-BCF10, DMW-BCG10, DMW-BLB13, Kodak, Panasonic, thirid-party batteries
Gerbrand Ceder, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), US, and his colleagues have developed A new manufacturing method for lithium-ion batteries could lead to smaller, lighter batteries that can be charged in just seconds.
They studied the way in which the ions traveled through the battery, and found a method in which to allow the ions travel along the correct path faster. Their new material does not lose its capacity to charge over time in the way that standard lithium ion batteries do. That means that the excess material put into standard batteries to compensate for this loss over time is not necessary, leading to smaller, lighter batteries with phenomenal charging rates.
What is more, because there are relatively few changes to the standard manufacturing process, Professor Ceder believes the new battery material could make it to market within two to three years.
Tracy Jones-Harris Science & Design Batteries, Lithium-ion, MIT, Quick Charge