IBM Announces Technology To Replace Ordinary Lithium-ion Batteries

Lithium-ion batteries could be a thing of the past after IBM announced a new discovery that involves the manufacturing of environmentally friendly batteries.

The new battery technology will see off the current battery technology that are said to charge slowly, have a shorter lifespan and are a threat to the environment since they contain heavy metals not forgetting their proneness to the explosion.

The news batteries, however, are said to be far more environmentally friendly as they have low flammability and they contain no heavy metal like the current batteries. The batteries also charge at an incredibly faster rate.

“This new research could help eliminate the need for heavy metals in battery production and transform the long-term sustainability of many elements of our energy infrastructure,” said IBM.

IBM kept its new discovery secretive only revealing that the raw materials used to make the batteries can be extracted from seawater which also eliminates environmental damage and humanitarian cost of mining as well as avoiding mining of dangerous heavy metals.

According to IBM, since the cost of mining has been reduced, the cost of the new batteries have been made more affordable.

Tests on the new battery also revealed that it can be optimized to surpass the capabilities of lithium-ion batteries in a number of individual categories including lower costs, faster charging time, higher power and energy density, strong energy efficiency and low flammability.

What stands out about the new battery is its faster charging rate, which IBM says can reach 80 percent in just five minutes without compromising discharge capacity.

Other unique qualities of IBM’s battery are; It can reach a power density of more than 10,000 watts per liter; It can reach an energy density of more than 800-watt hours per liter, which is comparable to modern lithium-ion batteries; It has an energy efficiency (defined by IBM as “the ratio of the energy to discharge the battery over the energy to charge the battery”) of over 90 percent.

Even though the story seems interesting, IBM is still optimistic about its new discovery and has not revealed whether they are already manufacturing the batteries or are still conducting lab tests.