Batteries, they promise us a green and mobile world but in fact they don’t as they are limited by the charge that can hold and their size. Too big and they become impractical or make our gadgets limited by how long they can supply the power we need.
However there is a move to see if there is a different way to envision those bulky short-lived batteries and it is being lead by companies like BAE Systems and people like Imperial College London researcher Emile Greenhalgh that would see batteries actually become part of the item that they are suppose to be powering.
BAE is working with both the military and race car manufacturer Lola to create what is being termed ‘structural batteries’ which would see the batteries being made up from composite materials that is merged with battery chemistry and then molded into 3D shapes that form the structure of the device.
Currently BAE is using nickel-based battery chemistry to power its structural batteries but is also looking into the integration of lithium-ion and lithium-polymer chemistry for use in consumer electronics.
This is similar to the approach being taken by researcher Emile Greenhalgh who is working on a car constructed from structural batteries. Here is a video of him explaining the process.
via GizMag
