Toshiba Introduces Fast-Charging Lithium-Ion Battery

[PeterPaul]

A standard house circuit can supply about 1200 watts maximum.

How do you explain 1800w hairdryers?

A 10-amp circuit supplies 1200w, but only a really old house would have a circuit rated that low. For the last 30 years, 15-amp (1800w) circuits have been the norm for residential construction, and some use 20-amp (2400w).

 

[ziwi]

Finally, some movement forward with technology that is beneficial This has far reaching implications. This is absolutely a good thing.

 

[0098386]

...bloody hell...

really counting on iPod spare shops selling these new beauties. and by the time they're out my PB battery will be a year old sooo a new ultra battery would be nice as

is about time batteries as a whole were upgraded. nice one science!

 

[DaveGee]

This is just the beginning folks...

Something that many people have simply glossed over is the enabler for this new battery... Nanotechnology! It's going to start make inroads into every single product sector you can imagine (and even those you never think about). IBM's MEMS prototype shown a few weeks ago is making excellent progress (google it - cool stuff also nano-tech) and just wait till other announcements start rolling out from all sectors of manufacturing.

A good site to see what's on the horizon of nanotech is http://nanotech.physorg.com/.

Dave

 

[Hoffer]

How do cars use this?

My guess is the big battery in hybrid cars like the Prius. I think Toshiba supplies Toyota the main battery in their hybrid cars. The new battery being able to work in colder temps would be important for a hybrid car up in Minnesota.

 

[notjustjay]

Any physics/EE people out there? How does this battery compare with current batteries in laptops, cell phones, and iPods?

600 mAh is a bit on the small side. My NiMH rechargeable AAA batteries are about 750 mAh, and your typical AA rechargeable NiMH battery, used in digital cameras, have a capacity of around 2200 mAh.

They need to combine this technology with wireless recharging (inductive charging). Let your devices charge up while they sit on your desk.

 

[SiliconAddict]

Have you been here?

Yes John's site is like crack for me. I've been tempted to contact him since he's in MN as well.

 

[SiliconAddict]

This is just the beginning folks...

Something that many people have simply glossed over is the enabler for this new battery... Nanotechnology!

Dave

That's why I've invested heavily in several fledgling nanotech companies. I think there is going to a .COM type explosion with nanotech and when it happens oh my lord are people going to get rich fast.

 

[Lacero]

That's why I've invested heavily in several fledgling nanotech companies. I think there is going to a .COM type explosion with nanotech and when it happens oh my lord are people going to get rich fast.

Investing heavily in one area is not the type of investment advice I would give. Since your portfolio would include growth stocks, nanotech seems to be the next big thing, but I would invest in established companies that can take advantage of these nanotech companies.

 

[chaos86]

all this talk of too much heat being released... why not look on the bright side.
why dont we make a tiny powerplant inside each computer, just above the G5, the battery, and any other mass heat producing components, and capture the heat to turn into more energy? like a car's turbo charger for a computer. (think different)

 

[chaos86]

How do you explain 1800w hairdryers?

A 10-amp circuit supplies 1200w, but only a really old house would have a circuit rated that low. For the last 30 years, 15-amp (1800w) circuits have been the norm for residential construction, and some use 20-amp (2400w).

also most houses have several circuits dont they? like on for the lights, ceiling fans, etc, one for the outlets (sometimes a few circuits each with a fraction of the houses outlets attached), and one for the dryer or other high power draw appliance. is that how it works?

 

[firebox]

2nd that

all this talk of too much heat being released... why not look on the bright side.
why dont we make a tiny powerplant inside each computer, just above the G5, the battery, and any other mass heat producing components, and capture the heat to turn into more energy? like a car's turbo charger for a computer. (think different)

this is a great way of thinking, i personally think about this kind of thing a lot, the most popular applications of energy in everyday working environments also produce some very obvious byproduced energy(s) at the point of use i.e the wheels of a car turning or the heat produced by a computer and there are probably some much better examples... even if this was used to power some completly different auxillary device or even be able to send that power back into the mains/generator or whatever that it came from....think excercise bike that actually sends the energy that you expend back into the mains

anyway first post so go easy guys! cheers.

 

[PeterPaul]

also most houses have several circuits dont they? like on for the lights, ceiling fans, etc, one for the outlets (sometimes a few circuits each with a fraction of the houses outlets attached), and one for the dryer or other high power draw appliance. is that how it works?

There are no hard-and-fast rules, but in general, one circuit will power outlets or lights in 2-3 rooms, not including high-draw rooms such as the kitchen and bathrooms. The average-sized house has 14-22 circuits, including 240-volt circuits for items such as a range, a clothes dryer and an electric furnace, if applicable.

 

[Lacero]

I'm still holding out for fusion cell batteries that last 200 years.

 

[wordmunger]

For those suggesting solar 1-minute chargers, or hybrid cars where the engine runs for 1 minute every hour, you need to be introduced to basic physics: you can't get "free" energy. What's impressive about this battery is that it can transfer a HUGE amount of energy in a short amount of time. You're not going to get this amount of energy from a tiny internal combustion engine or a solar panel. You'll need to plug your device in in order for it to work, and then probably only in a special circuit designed for high power transfer: special electric car service stations, or home circuits designed for the purpose.

With something like an iPod (assuming the technology can be miniaturized) the amount of power might come from an ordinary outlet, but it probably wouldn't be able to be delivered through a low-voltage firewire cord -- a whole new interface would have to be designed.

 

[Lacero]

This technology may finally make battery-powered automobiles a practical reality. The bigggest drawback of battery cars has always been the overnight charging and limited range. The time it takes a charge a car battery may be only as long as it takes a fill up a tank of gas and a restroom break.

 

[aldo]

Wow-- this is huge if they match their claims... Airports are going to hate it though-- travelers are going to be plugging in on connections and pulling a whole lot more current than the current chargers do...

lol. yea sure. The average airport will be pulling down mWs of power for lighting alone. I think they can handle a few kW of laptops being recharged...

 

[aldo]

How do you explain 1800w hairdryers?

A 10-amp circuit supplies 1200w, but only a really old house would have a circuit rated that low. For the last 30 years, 15-amp (1800w) circuits have been the norm for residential construction, and some use 20-amp (2400w).

Poor N. Americans. I think you'd struggle in the UK to find a circuit that supplies less than 20amps on 230V = 4600w. Most homes have at least 30A for cookers and the like.

 

[Lacero]

Bathroom receptacles have higher wattage than other parts of the house. Also, hairdryers are rarely set at maximum heat and if they were, they are only used for minutes at a time and not hours.

 

[aldo]

This technology may finally make battery-powered automobiles a practical reality. The bigggest drawback of battery cars has always been the overnight charging and limited range. The time it takes a charge a car battery may be only as long as it takes a fill up a tank of gas and a restroom break.

Well that's not it really. The big disadvantage of battery powered cars is that the batteries wear out so quickly. If you are having to spend $2000 replacing a battery pack every 3 years, noone is interested.

I think (especially in europe) a car which could do 100-200miles on one charge and could charge overnight would be quite popular. Just think of the amount of people who only need a car for a commute of 10-20 miles and 'going to the shops' with. An electric car would be far better, especially with petrol prices here in the UK (85p/litre.. around $6.50/US gallon) there would be a big incentive for those sort of people to stop wasting litres upon litres in gridlocked traffic and switch to electric.

It'd have to look good and be marketed well though, as I do think a lot of people would have your sort of reaction. Millions of people could easily cope with an electric car for day to day use.

 

[revjay]

This is only the tip of the iceberg...merely scratching the surface of what
Battery Technology will look like in a few short years.

 

[ewinemiller]

Wasn't Toshiba the company who a few months ago said they weren't going to be licensing thier various portable technologies to other companies until after thier own portables got a chunck of time with a large competitive advantage? It was something about regaining their glory days when Toshiba was the laptop to have. You may see these in new Toshiba laptops long before you see them in iPods and Powerbooks.

 

[CalfCanuck]

Wasn't Toshiba the company who a few months ago said they weren't going to be licensing thier various portable technologies to other companies until after thier own portables got a chunck of time with a large competitive advantage? It was something about regaining their glory days when Toshiba was the laptop to have. You may see these in new Toshiba laptops long before you see them in iPods and Powerbooks.

But Apple already has a healthy relationship with them (iPod mini HD's).

Also, Toshiba probably wants to corner a new technology (esp. in areas where they have no strong products, like iPods) rather than rarely using it and seeing other technologies take it's place.

 

[SiliconAddict]

I'm still holding out for fusion cell batteries that last 200 years.

Bah! Fusion is so last years tech...Zero point energy is where its at.

 

[mcdawson]

I would guess that these batteries would make the most immediate difference in electronics that consume power quickly--I could see cordless power tools being a big customer, esp for the "professional" lines. Being able to charge up a drill in a couple of minutes would be tremendous for contractors. it also might make electric mowers more practical--waiting a couple of hours for a recharge isn't practical for large use; however, if it that time could come down to a few minutes, that would make stopping to recharge more practical, thus allowing those tools to tackle larger jobs. I don't see cars being a big market initially because of cost (I assume there's a fair premium on these cells at the start). The other market could be UPS systems--you want them to recharge quickly once they've been triggered and the more charge cycles you can get out of them, the better…

I could also see the market for "big" rechargers. It might make sense, if you have a number of tools, to have a dedicated 220v/40 amp circuit that your chargers would hang off of. As pointed out in other posts, while the batteries charge fast, they can only charge as fast as the circuits will allow. I could see for contractors, having a tiered system-- a generator powering a large battery that can discharge large amps into the cordless tools quickly. A generator (sitting on a pickup) probably couldn't give enough power to quickly recharge these batteries; however, as the demand wouldn't be constant, it could run continuously, charging up the "discharge" battery, so the power would be there when needed.