The search is on for a battery technology to replace the ageing lithium-ion solutions we all use today. Not only do we need batteries that last longer, but no longer have the potential to catch on fire or explode when they fail. Such internal battery failures can see the temperature rise quickly to over 500 degrees centigrade which results in the spectacular battery fires we have all seen on the web.
A new invention promises to stop such incidents happening in existing lithium-ion batteries and rendering them safer to use in environments such as during a flight. The invention is called Stoba and has been developed at the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) in Taiwan.
Stoba is a new material that works by reacting to a temperature rise in the battery that means it is going outside its allowable working temperature. The new porous material is positioned in between the positive and negative sides of the battery. If the internal temperature rises above 130 degrees centigrade the material turns into a film and effectively stops the battery from heating up anymore through further reaction. You no longer have a working battery, but the rest of your laptop should survive and there will be no fire to deal with.
The good news doesn’t stop at preventing fires and explosions though, as the cost of including the new material in batteries is minimal. ITRI say at a maximum it will add 3% to the manufacturing cost and should be available to use next year.
Stoba is the result of four years of research and development led by Alex Pang, senior researcher on the project. ITRI also recently won the 2009 R&D 100 Awards for the Stoba material.
Read more at Reuters
Matthew’s Opinion
I have no doubt that all the major laptop and mobile phone manufacturers will add Stoba to their new batteries as soon as they can. If it works as well as ITRI state then it will stop any future fires, but it could also save manufacturers a lot of money. Those costly battery recalls may no longer be required because a battery will just fail rather than potentially exploding therefore minimizing the risk.
Costing only 3% more means it’s unlikely the price of laptops using Stoba batteries will increase. I guarantee laptops will be advertised as using the batteries though. No vendor is going to miss an opportunity to tell potential customers how safe the new battery in a shiny new laptop is.
Stoba may end up being used in new battery technology too. If those batteries have the potential to overheat then Stoba may be a solution that works, it just depends on how it reacts with the other components and materials in any new battery design.
Source: http://www.geek.com/articles/chips/stoba-new-material-stops-lithium-ion-battery-fires-and-explosions-20091112/ |
