How would your life change if you could recharge any battery operated device to 80% capacity in one minute? More importantly, for Advanced Media-types, how would your business change if consumers could watch hours of personal video or listen to days of music and not have to worry about running out of juice? We’re going to find out! Toshiba announced a new lithium-ion battery that can be refilled to 80 percent of capacity in one minute and loses less than one percent of its capacity after 1,000 recharges.
According to Toshiba, the secret is in the negative electrode. “Nano-particles prevent organic liquid electrolytes from reducing during battery recharging,” said Toshiba in a statement. “The nano-particles quickly absorb and store vast amount of lithium ions, without causing any deterioration in the electrode.”
The Japanese technology giant said that it expected to put the new batteries into play in 2006, initially in automotive and industrial applications. One use, Toshiba said, would be within hybrid vehicles, which store power generated when, for instance, the car decelerates.
Toshiba said it would move the new batteries into consumer electronics applications, such as laptops and cameras, at a later date. The prototype 600mAh cell, for example, was clearly developed with compact gadgets in mind: it measures 6.2 x 3.5 x 0.4cm.
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