Researchers make progress with better, safer aqueous lithium-ion batteries
By Donald Melanson 
posted August 11th 2010 9:25AM
posted August 11th 2010 9:25AM
Claims of better, safer lithium-ion batteries aren't exactly hard to find, but some researchers from Shanghai's Fudan University have now made some progress in an area that has previously proven to be particularly tricky for battery makers. They've managed to create an aqueous lithium-ion battery that substitutes most of the oxygen in the battery for water, which the researchers say not only makes them less flammable, but cheap to produce. As you might have guessed, that's been tried before, but previous attempts have only resulted in a battery that can hold 50 percent of its charge capacity after a hundred cycles -- these new batteries, on the other hand, hang on to 90 percent of their capacity after a thousand cycles. Unfortunately, the researchers still have a ways to go on increasing the actual capacities of the batteries, but they seem confident that they'll eventually be a viable alternative to traditional, more explosion-prone lithium-ion batteries.
I hope they also stay cooler when charging and discharging quickly.
@CRA1G Water has about 4 times the Specific Heat Capacity of Oxygen so it should take longer for them to get as hot, but will take longer for them to cool down.
@d0mth0ma5 I can only imagine how much larger and heavier this thing would be compared to a battery of a similar capacity. Worth it? Hmmm.
Safe is for nerds. We need gadgets which give you that feeling that it could explode at any moment , you what doesn't kill you makes you stronger and what kills you makes you dead.
Cool story?
@Accelerator Cool story, bro. Especially the "makes you dead" part xD
Well, when could we expect to see something like this in laptops?
Definitely need more progress with battery tech, this news pleases me.
at least the fire will put out itself!
Since none of my batteries ever exploded, I'll take capacity over safety, thanks for the offer, dear scientists.
This is all great and all, but who's working on batteries that hold a charge/provide more power for longer?
Our cell phones are getting more and more advanced/powerful and our batteries are still pretty old in terms of technology. We need battery technology to catch up before we end up with the most amazing phone ever with 1 hour of talk time and 5 hours of standby time...
@ThatGuitarGuy Hardware keeps getting smaller and smaller, eventually we could have a phone that's 90% battery and 10% everything else. Not to mention that hardware can also get more energy efficient.
Isn't water plus electronics usually a bad idea? I mean water cooling is one thing, but water in a battery that is mobile and prone to damage is quite another.
@KAL326
If your battery leaks or explodes, your motherboard should be the last thing in your mind.
I want nuclear batteries XD
So...we'll never get to see any of these in the near future? Argh. How long have we been on li-ion? Where is the new stuff?
I don't care if you have to make my batteries out of unicorn blood. I want more then 4 or 5 hours out of my fucking laptop with all the power settings on low. I feel like every few months we hear a story about some magical battery technology and nothing ever comes from it.
Man having a 12 cell battery for my laptop is so awesome... even though it's friggin fat lol
Although I'm sorta surprised by this emphasis on safety... I haven't seen a battery explode yet o.o
They're researching the wrong thing. My battery is safe enough dammit. I need more capacity!