Sony working on sulfur-based batteries that last 40% longer and are 30% smaller

midian182

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Even though smartphones get more powerful as each new iteration is released, one thing that never seems to improve - and sometimes actually gets worse - is their battery life. There are some ways to remedy this problem, such as battery cases like the one Apple recently revealed, but the best answer would be a longer-lasting battery. Now, Sony may have a solution to smartphones that need charging almost every day, as the company is said to be working on a battery that will last 40% longer on a single charge.

Japanese newspaper Nikkei reports that Sony, the company that developed the first commercial Li-ion battery, is increasing the life of these new batteries by creating a power cell made from a sulfur compound, rather than the commonly used lithium.

The problem with sulfur-based batteries in the past has been that their capacity decreases after every charging cycle due to the electrode dissolving into the electrolyte. Nikkei says that Sony has found a way around this issue by reforming the electrolyte solution to create longer-lasting batteries that hold more power. Sony is now said to be verifying the safety of the batteries before starting mass production.

Sony wants to make sure that these batteries aren’t going to explode and turn your smartphones into a smoldering, stinking mess after a few charges, obviously, which is why the safety tests will be pretty extensive. In all likelihood, we won’t see these batteries until around 2020.

Another great thing about these sulfur batteries is that they’re 30 percent smaller than the lithium variety, which hopefully means we'll be using incredibly thin smartphones that can go several days without charging in a few years' time.

Image credit: Bacho / shutterstock

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Until around 2020 ?!? is this a joke? In 2020 we should be on mars and use cold fusion for energy...
 
New battery tech here! New battery tech there! 10x the battery life of Li-ion with the same charge! Been hearing this for the last ten years, still on Li-ion. I will be interested when it actually comes out.
 
Let's face it... we all know what's going to happen. They'll just make the devices that much thinner. Same crappy battery life. But at least I'll be able to shave myself with the iPhone 9!
 
"such as battery cases like the one Apple recently revealed"
You probably mean't to say "The overpriced, pregnant, laughing stock gadget Apple recently revealed" but that would be too many words for this article.
 
Let's face it... we all know what's going to happen. They'll just make the devices that much thinner. Same crappy battery life. But at least I'll be able to shave myself with the iPhone 9!
At least it should be good for something then.
 
2020 might look like a long way to go, but Sony will not just release these sulfur batteries and they're outdated already. I believe the company will make sure their release will be some kind of a drastic change towards slim and long lasting smartphones. It is going to start in the mobile division, and then progress towards the computer department in other firms.
 
We always think that battery tech is a few years away because by the time it makes it to market no one is talking about it anymore. There are many different chemistry's of Li-Ion and LiPo batteries coming to market every year.
 
New battery tech here! New battery tech there! 10x the battery life of Li-ion with the same charge! Been hearing this for the last ten years, still on Li-ion. I will be interested when it actually comes out.
So true.
I Hear all about these breakthroughs with battery technology.
But nothing changes.
About the same shiz now, as I did trying to keep my Walkman running as a kid.
 
How can it last 40% longer and 30% smaller? Either it last longer for the same size, or it last the same time but is smaller, not both. Or do they mean that although it is 30% smaller, it last 40% longer than something that would be 43% ******?

This does not make sense does it? This heading is really stupid.

This is in fact what they are saying:

Because the batteries can last 40% longer for the same size, they can make it 30% smaller (actually 28.57%).
 
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