This new coin-sized battery charges in just 3 minutes and seems to last forever

As the world moves towards the electrification of everything, it’s only reasonable to expect that the batteries in our daily tech – smartphones, watches, laptops, or daily commute vehicles, even – should only continue improving in efficiency and efficacy. Well, that’s absolutely what’s happening, as evidenced by a new battery developed by a team of Harvard University researchers comprising of Xin Li, William Fithugh, Luhan Ye, and Fred Hu. Calling their tech startup Adden Energy, the team have managed to refine a novel type of battery called a solid-state battery, with the aim of eventually putting them in electric vehicles (EVs).

A coin-sized prototype of the battery was seen charging within three minutes, with the durability to charge for over 10,000 cycles in its lifetime. Equally as impressive is the composition of the battery. Made out of high-density solid state materials (hence its name), the risks and potential hazards typically associated with lithium ion batteries are eliminated, and the battery itself is deemed significantly more stable and durable, allowing for a much longer lifespan – something current mainstream batteries in EVs and smart devices currently lack.

So far, the startup has managed to net US$5. 15 million in seed funding for further development of its technology, and there are plans to scale up in the years to come. The team plans to first create a working battery the size of a human palm, and then move on to a full-sized battery that can be installed in EVs.

“If you want to electrify vehicles, a solid-state battery is the way to go,” said co-founder Xin Li, who is also a professor of materials science at Harvard’s John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS). “We set out to commercialize this technology because we do see our technology as unique compared to other solid-state batteries.

” He also explained that in the lab, the battery prototype was able to successfully complete between 5,000 to 10,000 charge cycles – significantly better than the 2,000 to 3,000 cycles achievable by current-day best-in-class batteries. “We don’t see any fundamental limit to scaling up our battery technology,” he said. “That could be a game-changer.

” Obviously, such innovation can only be welcomed considering how much we now view EVs as the future of transport. Success in reducing charging times and prolonging battery life will only make the adoption of EVs more swift, reduce the pollution caused by manufacturing such batteries, and in turn tone down carbon dioxide emissions by quite a bit. “Complete electrification of the vehicle fleet is one of the most meaningful steps we can take to fight climate change,” said Fitzhugh.

“However, broad adoption of electric vehicles requires batteries that can meet a diverse set of consumer needs. ” For example, he said, taking into account that 37 percent of EV users in the U. S.

don’t have garages, performing overnight charging isn’t feasible. “In order to electrify this segment, EVs need to recharge at comparable times to internal combustion vehicles (which are your standard petrol and gas-powered cars, trucks and bikes), essentially in the time you’d currently spend at the gas pump,” he said. Hopefully with such efficient charging capabilities, this new class of batteries may finally see more parts of the world become quickly acquainted with more EVs on the road.

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