Hitachi Maxell Has A Li-On Battery With Twice The Capacity

With most smartphone and tablet components becoming standard and processors getting more powerful, the next frontier in mobile technology will be batteries. Making batteries contain even more energy while still keeping their sizes manageable has been a puzzle that spans the fields of engineering, physics, and chemistry. So far, there have been many possible solutions, ranging from the conservative to the eccentric, and Hitachi Maxell, one of the most popular battery makers, is throwing in their own two cents as well.

Most new battery innovations that promise more capacity at almost no cost involve changing the composition of one of the components. Hitachi Maxell's solution isn't that different from this. It employs a new silicon-based material to make up the negative electrode of a battery. In particular, it uses a composite of Silicon coated with Carbon or SiO-C. It calls the technology "ULSiON".

By using finer particles of silicon, Maxell was able to solve one of the most common problems when using silicon as a battery material. Silicon has a tendency to expand and contract when charging, which could damage the battery. While not exactly gone, Maxell's scientists have been able to reduce it to considerable levels.

In theory, this will allow battery makers to produce a pack that is only 13 mm thin and yet has twice the capacity of a conventional rechargeable battery of the same size. Hitachi Maxell has not yet announced if and when it plans to take the batteries into production though it envisions that the technology will be of great use to wearable device manufacturers.

The company will exhibit this ULSiON battery at Japan's second Wearable Expo, taking place in Tokyo from January 13 to 15.

VIA: Nikkei