Battery-makers chase different technologies in the race against the Energizer Bunny. Valence Technology's small-format N-Charge (with phosphate-based cathode) can run a notebook power PC up to 10 hr. Battery developers like A123Systems, Watertown, Mass., use nanotechnology to create high-power-density lithium-ion batteries. Toshiba's tiny methanol fuel cell could power a digital music player for 20 hr. Valence Technology claims its 12.8-V U-Charge Power System (the same size as a standard lead-acid battery) runs twice as long, handles four times as many discharge cycles, and needs no maintenance. The lead-acid battery has been around for a century and a half, and lithium-ion cells for only 15 years. But battery technology lags the spiraling energy demands spurred by the portable electronics boom. Today's consumer wants power "to go," and the race for the best way to power portable devices is on. Basically, batteries are containers that hold chemicals, and the technology hasn't changed much since the 1940s. Different chemicals have increased battery life but it's still not satisfactory. One problem is the fixed size and shape of AA and other standard batteries make them incompatible with modern portable consumer gear. Further complicating matters, the shapes of proprietary batteries conform only to specific applications such as powering cell phones. Bottom line: researchers are constantly looking for ways of squeezing more power from ever-smaller batteries. A driving force behind better battery technology is the U.S. military. While consumers have been okay with battery-powered appliances that run for 4 hr, the military has demanded batteries with enough power for 12-hr missions. Now, 72 hr is the goal. A recent Army-sponsored study by the National Research Council recommended hybrid energy systems to support mobile warriors of the Future Force (the Army's initiative to develop high-tech capabilities in soldier systems). Portable battery rechargers; laser target-designator devices for guiding rockets,
Products & Services
Rechargeable (Secondary) Batteries
Rechargeable batteries or secondary batteries contain active materials that can be regenerated by charging. When the energy produced by rechargeable batteries drops below optimum efficiency, secondary batteries may be recharged in a couple of ways, depending upon their construction.
Batteries
Industrial batteries translate chemical energy into electricity.
Lithium Batteries
Lithium batteries have a lithium anode. They are available as both primary batteries and secondary batteries.
Disposable (Primary) Batteries
Disposable primary batteries are replaced once the energy supply is depleted. Their energy is produced when the materials within the battery react and are exhausted.
Product Announcements
|
|
Epec Engineered Technologies is an experienced designer, developer and manufacturer of innovative battery power solutions. With over 60 years of operational excellence, we have built a state of the...
(read more)
|
|
|
|
When using rechargeable battery pack technology to run equipment that needs to be monitored for safety or other concerns... When your application needs highly accurate tracking of available charge and...
(read more)
|
|
|
|
AEM provides a wide range of battery packs.
(read more)
|
|
|
|
Advanced Engineered Systems, Inc. (AES) is a world leader in dry cell battery technology. AES designs and builds equipment for low-speed 5 to 20 parts per minute pilot lines thru 600 parts per minute...
(read more)
|
|
Topics of Interest
The International Battery Seminar and Exhibit is organized by Dr. Sumner P. "Shep" Wolsky and Dr. A. Harry Taylor and is administered by Tom DeVita. The Battery Seminar was highly successful...
AN1149 Designing A Li-Ion Battery Charger and Load Sharing System With Microchip's Stand-Alone Li-Ion Battery Charge Management Controller However, most of the time, batteries are designed to be...
Lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries are sometimes called lithium-carbon batteries. They have a rechargeable cell whose negative active material is carbon, and to which lithium cations are intercalated or...
New from Australia is the Electruck ET-150-72 equipped with DC motor and lead-acid batteries for off-road use. Based on its recent analysis of the lithium-ion power sources market for medical,...
The first widely produced batteries were lead acid. Used in early cars, they got the automobile to start as reliably as the horse. By the 1960s, engineers had developed lighter, single-use alkaline...
