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HHO BLASTER
05-24-2009, 11:56 AM
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10244133-54.html

Future air-fueled battery could store 10 times more power

http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/bto/20090519/airbatterygraphic_610x431.jpg


May 19, 2009 5:14 PM PDT
Future air-fueled battery could store 10 times more power
by Erik Palm Font size Print E-mail Share 21 comments Yahoo! Buzz
.A new type of air-fueled battery being studied could provide up to 10 times the energy storage of designs currently available, and someday be used to power electric cars, mobile phones, and laptops, say researchers.

"Our results so far are very encouraging and have far exceeded our expectations," said professor Peter Bruce, of the University of St Andrews' chemistry department, in a news release Monday.



Diagram of the STAIR (St. Andrews Air) cell. Oxygen drawn from the air reacts within the porous carbon to release the electrical charge in this lithium air battery.

(Credit: EPSRC)The new idea the researchers are examining is to replace the lithium cobalt oxide electrode in today's rechargeable lithium batteries with a porous carbon electrode. This allows lithium ions and electrons in the cell to react instead with oxygen in the ambient air, according to a press release from the U.K.'s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, which finances the research conducted at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. The project has received about 1.6 million British pounds ($2.4 million) from the EPSRC.

According to the researchers, the new design could potentially improve the performance of portable electronic devices and provide a big boost to the renewable-energy industry. The researchers see a scenario in which the batteries will enable a constant electrical output from sources such as wind or solar. Also the STAIR (St. Andrews Air) cell could help power electric cars.

The STAIR cell is expected to be cheaper than rechargeable batteries of today, the researchers said. The new component is made of porous carbon, which is much less expensive than the lithium cobalt oxide it would be replacing.

"The key is to use oxygen in the air as a reagent, rather than carry the necessary chemicals around inside the battery," Bruce said.

The four-year research project began two years ago and is scheduled to end in June 2011. Bruce expects it will be at least five years before the STAIR cell is commercially available

Q-Hack!
05-24-2009, 03:28 PM
The last 20 years has seen some real break throughs in battery technology. It was 1991 before the general consumer could buy lithium ion technology. Oddly enough, most of the funding for the lithium ion research came from Exxon back in the 1970s. Since this is funded mostly by universities (EPSRC), I would expect it to be on the market a lot sooner.

Painless
05-24-2009, 05:14 PM
I wonder how the new design will affect the 'memory' problem of current rechargable batteries?

Q-Hack!
05-25-2009, 03:55 AM
I wonder how the new design will affect the 'memory' problem of current rechargable batteries?

Well the memory problem only affects the Nickel Cadmium (NiCd) batteries. Since this new design is basically a variation of the Lithium Ion battery, I suspect it wont have a memory problem either.

Roland Jacques
05-25-2009, 08:45 AM
The last 20 years has seen some real break throughs in battery technology. It was 1991 before the general consumer could buy lithium ion technology. Oddly enough, most of the funding for the lithium ion research came from Exxon back in the 1970s. Since this is funded mostly by universities (EPSRC), I would expect it to be on the market a lot sooner.

Every time i see or hear of some company that is predominately one type of company, doing research in something other than there bread and butter. I cant help but have the question why do they do it?

Do you think that folks like Exxon doing this kind of research have sort of a win win approach to their alternative energy research. It seems to me they can write off the research as cost of business, patent this kind of technology, and not use it, or release it, because some self interest in other areas, like oil...? I dont mind big companies making lots and lots of money. Letting get grants, and write off these research projects in other areas seems weird to me. Isn't it kind of like putting the fox in charge of the hen house?