An all-ceramic power pack rolled out by Japanese company TDK could soon provide your Apple and other products with much greater battery life — by a factor of 100.
The latest breakthrough, CeraCharge, is coming out of the company's Austria manufacturing facility, according to a TDK press release and video clip.
The solid-state power pack is being billed as a world's first that's able to energize sensors, watches, phones, hearing aids, and many other devices for longer stretches of time, the company's experts said.
Fascinatingly, they are touting an energy density 100 times greater than its existing solid-state packs. What's more, the reusable cells could help to reduce the millions of nonrechargeable household batteries that are sometimes recycled and often trashed.
It was developed by a multinational team of experts.
"We combined the technology of worldwide specialists to make CeraCharge," co-project lead Masahiro Oishi says in the clip.
The company, a battery supplier for Apple, is developing reliable, safe, and small batteries in part in preparation for expanding European Union rules that could one day phase out nonrechargeable packs "where alternatives exist," per EU documents and Interesting Engineering.
CeraCharge could be a replacement for coin-shaped batteries that power small electronics, as a common example.
The proprietary solid-state tech includes an oxide-based electrolyte (ceramic) and lithium alloy anodes. The electrolyte, where lithium ions move between the anode and cathode during operation, is "extremely safe," according to TDK.
Solid-state power packs differ from common lithium-ion ones that have a liquid substance. Many experts consider them to be the future, promising greater storage capacity, durability, and safety. Nissan, Toyota, and Samsung are some big companies that have been investing in them for years, according to an AZoCleantech report.
Since CeraCharge is tiny, it helps decrease device sizes. A photo from the company shows one of the cells being held with tweezers.
Powering small, wearable tech is a research topic elsewhere, too. A team in Australia is developing thin, flexible, and printable solar cells that could potentially be worn on clothing to power electronics with help from the sun.
The innovations can help reduce the amount of battery waste we make. When trashed, they can produce toxic pollution if they end up in a landfill or are incinerated. Some improperly discarded batteries can even explode. But if they are reused, the valuable materials inside can be turned into new products, as the University of Texas, Dallas noted.
Fortunately, battery recycling is gaining traction. In the U.S., the government is investing tens of millions of dollars into the effort. Call2Recycle is a great service that helps to give old batteries new life.
If TDK's rechargeable tech can be scaled up, the amount of drained packs could greatly diminish with what is being touted as novel technology.
"CeraCharge is the world's first battery of its kind," the narrator on the TDK clip states.
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