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Silver-Zinc Batteries Coming in 2009 With 40% Better Run Time Than Lithium-Ion
Posted by Sean Fallon at 3:48 AM on October 8, 2008
Lithium-ion is, by far, the most common form of rechargeable battery found in today's mobile devices. However, a shift towards silver zinc may be looming on the horizon thanks to a new product in development by ZPower, Inc. Ross E. Dueber, president and CEO of the company is scheduled to address attendees at the Batteries 2008 conference in Nice, France starting tomorrow, where he will tout the advantages of his silver-zinc technology scheduled to launch in "a major notebook computer in 2009." Whether we will find out the identity of this "major notebook" in the coming days remains to be seen, but the impending release does offer some hope for consumers frustrated by the battery life of their precious portable gadgets.
First and foremost, silver-zinc can offer up to 40 percent more battery life than traditional lithium-ion batteries and 200 + cycles at 100% discharge. ZPower claims that their product contains no toxic chemicals and is up to 95% recyclable—which I would assume means that they have addressed the problem of mercury leakage that plagues silver-zinc batteries at the end of their life-cycle. They also noted that the batteries feature a water-based chemistry that is completely non-flammable (unlike lithium-ion that has a reputation for the occasional explosion). The one major drawback of silver-zinc is the cost of the silver itself, but word is that ZPower is planning on a trade-in recycle policy that will help to offset costs. Sounds good, but we will have to wait and see if the notebook coming out next year will be important enough and affordable enough to drive sales.
Dr. Ross Dueber to Discuss First Silver-Zinc Battery
for Mobile Consumer Devices at Batteries 2008 in NiceCAMARILLO, October 7, 2008 - Dr. Ross E. Dueber, president and CEO of ZPower, Inc., will discuss the industry's first silver-zinc battery technology for consumer electronics at the Batteries 2008 conference in Nice, France, starting October 8th. His presentation will address the performance, environmental, and safety advantages inherent within ZPowerTM silver-zinc batteries, scheduled to launch in a major notebook computer in 2009. The annual event will be held at the Acropolis Convention Centre on October 8, 9, and 10. Batteries 2008 is a worldwide exhibition focused on power supply, with more than 400 attendees.
Dr. Dueber will discuss the next replacement for lithium-ion rechargeable batteries and what power source can take mobility into the future. "At the heart of the $55 billion global battery market is the chemical conundrum of power supply," said Dueber. "Today's consumer has the ability to watch an entire movie on a palm-sized device--but portable power technology has not kept up. Engineers admit that they are hitting the wall on lithium polymer and lithium-ion performance. Unstable lithium-ion batteries have resulted in a high number of product recalls by manufacturers of notebook computers. These market trends are creating a pressing need for a better battery."Silver-zinc battery chemistry is currently poised to move into the commercial marketplace for use in consumer electronics. This new silver-zinc battery chemistry uses the latest in advanced polymers, nano-technology, power electronics and processing methods to create a battery that surpasses other rechargeable batteries for notebook computers, mobile phone and consumer electronics applications.
The advantages of silver-zinc batteries can be summed up as follows:
High Performance - Up to 40% more run time than traditional lithium-ion batteries. And with recent improvements in battery cycle life, silver-zinc batteries achieve 200 + cycles at 100% discharge and thousands of cycles at intermediate discharge.
Clean Technology - Over 95% of key battery elements can be recycled and reused. The raw materials recovered in the recycling process of silver-zinc batteries are the same quality as those that went into the creation of the battery. Environmental impact is lessened since the need to mine for new materials is minimized.
Safe - Silver-zinc batteries contain no lithium and are inherently safe. They are not subject to the recent FAA air travel restrictions now placed on lithium-ion batteries. Silver-zinc batteries feature a water-based chemistry that is not flammable. The battery is therefore free from the problems of thermal runaway and fire.
[ZPower]
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
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Lite
Posted 5:21 AM 8/10/08
Now what I want to know, is how long until this can be adapted for use in cars like the Volt/Prius...
Lite
Lite
Posted 5:18 AM 8/10/08
@stopcrazypp: I've noticed that once you hit about 100 cycles on a Li-Ion battery, the runtime that the battery supports is generally closer to 70% of a new battery unfortunately.
So, while some Li-Ion batteries may support 500 cycles reliably, they're typically not notebook batteries. Now a cell phone battery I could see lasting that long.
Lite
Lite
Posted 5:16 AM 8/10/08
I'm guessing we will see this in something like a Sony micro notebook first. It's basically what the market is really ripe for in terms of battery runtime.
Though, Apple doesn't have a "tiny" machine on the market yet. The air is small/slim, but isn't really small. Which seems to be a growing market if the people visiting the office are any indication.
Lite
stopcrazypp
Posted 5:11 AM 8/10/08
200 cycles isn't that good. Typical Li-ion batteries can last 500 cycles now. But the energy density is higher, so that might offset the lower charge cycle. And these tend to be quite expensive.
stopcrazypp
AcerBandit
Posted 5:10 AM 8/10/08
@blackmage439: Amen to that.
AcerBandit
blackmage439
Posted 5:01 AM 8/10/08
Sony's CEO is probably eying this with disdain.
"You mean we can make batteries that DON'T have a tendency to explode? Where's the fun in that?"
blackmage439
Killjoy
Posted 4:57 AM 8/10/08
Good! I still prefer regenerative power over batteries but I have a feeling it'll be a while before re-generators (if you'll allow me) will be both effective and affordable.
Killjoy
bagellord
Posted 4:55 AM 8/10/08
Wonder what laptop it will be? My bet is on either HP or Apple.
bagellord
Lite
Posted 5:39 AM 8/10/08
@Lite: Oh wait, they're not supposed to be able to do this... So they claim. Muahahahaha!
Lite
Lite
Posted 5:37 AM 8/10/08
@ryusen: Probably not 40% heavier... But I bet that the batteries cost 3x as much as a standard Li-ion battery until mass production starts. Then they will need to figure out heat dissipation issues to adapt for automotive use...
What's the over/under for how long until one of these is filmed blowing up in an airport/meeting?
Lite
ryusen
Posted 5:35 AM 8/10/08
@Lite:
yeah i was thinking the same thing. The other factor in this type of decision is Weight. Just how much heavier or lighter would they be in a car?
ryusen
ryusen
Posted 5:34 AM 8/10/08
@blackmage439:
i dunno Mercury leakage might not be as exciting, but just as evil.
ryusen
Jrsy is the dude, playing the dude, disguised as another dude
Posted 5:32 AM 8/10/08
iBrick??
Jrsy is the dude, playing the dude, disguised as another dude
lilaliendog
Posted 5:25 AM 8/10/08
@Lite: good call on that one
lilaliendog
Purple Dave
Posted 5:51 AM 8/10/08
Two things:
1. I'm all for the development of a battery that doesn't suffer the major drawback of Li-Ion batteries, which is that they will simply expire from age (where other battery types only go bad from repeated use), but if silver is such a big component I find it unlikely that we'll see these in the places I'd most like to see them, like replacement batteries for my Nintendo DS and Mindstorms NXTs.
2. If these really do catch on, I predict a rash of battery thefts from computers that are otherwise securely tethered in internet cafes.
Purple Dave
radeon21
Posted 6:19 AM 8/10/08
@Purple Dave:
Silver isn't really that expensive, if that's what you're getting at. Gold is roughly 50 times more expensive most of the time.
radeon21
Geisrud
Posted 6:37 AM 8/10/08
@radeon21: relative to gold, silver isn't expensive at all. However, it is still selling at over $11 / ounce. Still an expensive material...
Geisrud
mikegriffin
Posted 6:35 AM 8/10/08
Good time to buy all the silver you can. Its cheap right now.
mikegriffin
Geisrud
Posted 6:33 AM 8/10/08
@stopcrazypp: I was suspicious of that as well, but notice the quoted part, "...achieve 200 + cycles at 100% discharge and thousands of cycles at intermediate discharge...."
Geisrud
Noobs-R-Us
Posted 8:02 AM 8/10/08
200 cycles? Kinda short doncha think? If we hope to see this in iPhones then it better be replacable.
Noobs-R-Us
MrBlahBlah
Posted 7:47 AM 8/10/08
I'll wait for carbon nanotubes, thankyouverymuch
MrBlahBlah
eblingmis
Posted 8:31 AM 8/10/08
@bagellord: Maybe a Thinkpad..
eblingmis
stopcrazypp
Posted 9:44 AM 8/10/08
@Geisrud:
Ah that sounds more like it. If it is just 200 cycles on rated at the standard 70% then that isn't good. 1000s of cycles sounds more like it. So maybe this is worth the cost.
stopcrazypp
vgart
Posted 9:41 AM 8/10/08
Is all goes well in 2009, i really hope to see this.
vgart
yashichi8bit
Posted 9:36 AM 8/10/08
I would purchase a solid brick of silver if it meant great battery life for my devices.
yashichi8bit
whiteknight
Posted 10:17 AM 8/10/08
I'll wait to see what the dude says and what the company thinks a reasonable price-point is. Ultimately, if they can prove that replacing your silver-zinc battery is less expensive than owning another battery system then I'll be interested. Otherwise, good luck getting normal people like me interested.
whiteknight
JoshS
Posted 11:18 AM 8/10/08
@MrBlahBlah: I concur. Though it would be nice if production could be sped up.
JoshS
Sam_Zebian
Posted 2:39 PM 8/10/08
I bet it will be in the next version of the Macbook pro (or whatever else they will be calling the next top-tier Mac laptop), and I kind of hope so. (I've been looking to get a Macbook pro (yes, to run Vista too) because I don't yet have a mac nor do I have a laptop with a backlit keyboard. (which pc manufacturers have failed miserably at putting into their machines, even their high end ones. (only Dell and Alienware are the only 2 (well 1 company since Dell owns alienware) to sell keyboards with backlighting on windows machines))
Sam_Zebian
Purple Dave
Posted 5:38 PM 8/10/08
@radeon21:
Dude, people are stripping copper and aluminum from new-house construction sites. Doesn't matter if they'd only get a few bucks per battery. If they can walk off with it unnoticed, it's probably gone. And if these are going to be expensive enough that they have to set up a trade-in program just to get people to start buying them, they'll probably get more than a few bucks for the amount of silver that's in the battery.
Purple Dave