Metal-airBatteries
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Fluidic Energy promises better, cheaper metal-air batteries, wins DoE grant
It's not the only company working on metal-air batteries, but Scottsdale, Arizona-based Fluidic Energy may be in a better position to deliver on its promises than most, as it's just managed to snag a $5.13 million research grant from the US Department of Energy to further develop the "breakthrough" technology. While that word's thrown around quite a bit these, in the case, it may actually live up to the hype, considering that breakthrough in question would be a battery that's able to deliver eleven times the energy density of the best lithium-ion batteries for less than one-third of the cost. The key to that, it seems, is the battery's use of an ionic liquid as its electrolyte, which is described as a "wonder fluid" since it's able to last significantly longer than other fluids because drying out isn't a problem, and because it brings with it a significant boost in energy density. Of course, the company still apparently doesn't have an actual battery to back up its claims just yet, and it's not making any promises about when it might deliver one either.
Rechargeable zinc-air batteries promise a lot, we'll see if they deliver in 2010
Is there any other field of technology that promises as many revolutionary innovations as battery makers do yet delivers so few? We've heard of battery life being made four times, eight times, even twelve times better... and seen pretty much none of it pan out in any sort of meaningful way. Zinc-air batteries are also nothing new, but now some whizkids up in Norway have figured out how to make them rechargeable and set up an entire company, ReVolt, for their commercialization. With more than double the energy density of regular Lithium-Ion batteries, safer operation, lower cost of production, and environmentally friendlier ingredients, ReVolt's tech sounds as sweet as anything, but we'd advise waiting for the pudding-based proof before getting excited. Plans are for small hearing aid and cellphone batteries to show up in 2010, and if all goes well there, larger cells for electric vehicles could also follow. Sure. [Via PhysOrg]
