Samsung is adding graphene to its lithium batteries to make them last longer and charge faster, according to emerging reports.
The Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT) created "graphene balls" to increase battery capacity by 45 percent and charge up to five times more quickly. The company says the innovation could allow the new battery to charge fully in just 12 minutes, making it suitable for cell phones and electric cars alike.
Electronics manufacturers have taken to graphene, raising its status to a "miracle material" due to its strength, conductivity, and elasticity.
"It is a great technology with various potential applications but it will take a long time for graphene-based batteries to be mass produced," Kim Young-woo at SK Securities told the Financial Times. "The key is who can commercialize the technology first. It won't be easy to apply the minute processing technology for large-scale production of high-quality, electronics-grade graphene."
Samsung has had to invest heavily in battery research since the exploding Note 7 fiasco of 2016. Worldwide, battery research is becoming a top priority as renewables and consumer electronics take over economies and markets.
Forschungszentrum Juelich researchers with American Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists have now successfully observed how deposits form at the iron electrode during operation. A deeper understanding of the charging and discharging reactions is viewed as the key for the further development of this type of rechargeable battery to gain market maturity.
Iron-air batteries promise a considerably higher energy density than present-day lithium-ion batteries. Additionally, their main constituent - iron - is an abundant and therefore quite low-cost material. The Forschungszentrum Jülich scientists are among the driving forces in the renewed research into this concept that was discovered in the 1970s.
By Zainab Calcuttawala for Oilprice.com
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Zainab Calcuttawala is an American journalist based in Morocco. She completed her undergraduate coursework at the University of Texas at Austin (Hook’em) and reports on… More
Comments
Graphene is cancerous?
The only current manufacturing of graphene is in tennis rackets and ink so I guess you should be careful with paper. Also our bodies are made of carbon so how is 2 dimensional (at the atomic level) carbon structure going to cause an issue in your body?
If that doesn't stop your concern worldwide production of graphene balls is currently measured in grams.
The trick is the graphene balls. These are cancerous. They have similar inflammatory properties as asbestos. Carbon doesn't get broken down by the body in this form. Think about an accident. The batteries rupture. Now you've got micro particles floating around in the air and smoke: terrible for victims and first responders alike.
This might be mitigated if there is some form of encapsulation technology. Perhaps an expansion foam like in Demolition Man. Without some kind of protection, this is another mesothelioma waiting to happen.
What woman is going to use a lead or iron based battery? How many women change their own batteries now with lead acid?
This article needs some clarity....