Panasonic's silicon-packin' batteries boast 30 percent capacity boost, hit stores in 2012
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted March 1st 2010 12:59PM
posted March 1st 2010 12:59PM
Sure, not a day goes by without some sort revolutionary (if not just plain silly) announcement regarding fuel cells, and once again it looks like it's Panasonic's turn. According to Nikkei, the company will begin volume production of Li-ion rechargeable batteries that use a silicon alloy anode sometime in fiscal 2012. While Si alloy batteries have a tenfold theoretical improvement over current cells that utilize graphite, Panny claims that its device will have an improvement in linear capacity of close to thirty percent -- keeping at least 80 percent of its capacity even after 500 charge/recharge cycles. Currently the bad boy is being marketed towards notebook batteries, although we could be seeing 'em in our electric cars in the near future. Catch a couple pictures from the press conference after the break.
Seems like everything good is always 2 years away.
@reallynotnick batteries are not good.
@reallynotnick
My GF silicon packin boobs are 30% larger TODAY.
I call it now - this will never see the light of day.
@Evan Same sentiment. Yet another revolutionary battery to add to the growing list of revolutionary batteries that will change the way we work.
Do I hear 24 hours of talk time?
@AlexSanchez
Yeah, not gonna happen... cellphone companies will find some way to burn through all that extra capacity by dropping in more useless features (that require even more juice) into their phones.
Just look at laptops.
Sure, there are definitely some laptops that have some awesome battery life, but the every day "typical" laptop still is stuck at about the same battery life as one from 3 or 4 years ago. Sure, it has a faster processor and more RAM, but the usable life is about the same. They always find some extra "feature" to drop into them... when a new CPU comes out that uses less power, the laptops makers drop in a larger screen (which conveniently uses about as much extra juice, that the new CPU saves).
How about no more batteries?
I dream of a future ruled by wireless power and capacitors
@PapaSteveZ
Imagine being able to power all your smaller devices and having them "just work" like most people's cell phones today.
I, too, share your dream of that kind of future.
Am all for better batterys
No mention of the 2012-pocalypse?
Anyone else think that 80% capacity after 500 cycles seems pretty crappy? I'm so tired of replacing batteries....
[maths moment]
11% annualy would be an exponential function, but the one they drew is obviously linear
[/maths moment]
don't mind this intermission and continue your discussion about batteries :)
@(Unverified)
No it's not.
I just want my xbox360 controllers to stop dying...
Sweet. I'd be so pissed if I cant take a snapshot of the Aliens arriving in December of 2012. What? Am i the only one that watches the History Channel?
what's the point ? the world will explode in 2012 anyway
"Sure, not a day goes by without some sort revolutionary (if not just plain silly) announcement regarding fuel cells, and once again it looks like it's Panasonic's turn."
Fuel cells != Batteries. You'd think people who write technology blogs would understand that technology a bit.
...sure... and I bet they look and feel just like real batteries.
I hope the anodes both point in the same direction when you buy a pack.
I hate that.
It is very distracting.
30% higher capacity in 2012 ? Huh ... That's a blow.
Hey remember back in the days, when it was all about carbon nanotubes batteries hitting mainstream in 2010 ? Good old times...
Speaking of these, they did far better in the vaporware department than Panasonic's batteries do.
Is that graph correct? Has there really been an average capacity increase of 11% since Li-Ion batteries were invented in the 90s? I was under the impression we'd been using the same Li-Ion batteries for 15 years with maybe some very minor improvements but I didn't think we were seeing an 11% annual capacity increase, or I sure didn't feel it at all...
According to the graph, in 2005 we were at x2 capacity of what we had in 1995 and now we are at x3...?? Do current batteries really have 33% more capacity than they did in 2005? I don't believe it, smartphones that have existed since 2005-2006 have always had the same 1200-1400 or so mAh batteries. So, anyone know for sure if this is correct?
Headline should read:
"Panasonic's silicon-packin' batteries boast 30 percent capacity boost, hit stores in 2012, cause world to end"