Experts weren't kidding when they declared a decade ago that lithium-ion batteries would emerge as the hottest energy-storage technology on the market.
Remember the old saying — backed up by several studies — that leaving a notebook computer powered up on the lap for lengthy periods can increase the risk of male infertility? This has less to do with the laptop and more to do with the heat that's generated from its battery and transferred to the groin.
I own a Dell laptop, and having experienced this uncomfortable phenomenon, its battery is now permanently removed unless I'm travelling and truly need the mobility. Seems to help.
But now men — and women — have to worry about torched crotches. Between Dell Computer and Apple Computer, nearly six million Sony-made lithium-ion batteries have been recalled over the past two weeks to fend off what is emerging to be a major public-relation crisis for the three companies.
It's also a PR crisis for lithium-ion technology itself. It may not be the first recall — Hewlett-Packard, for example, recalled 16,000 batteries in April and 135,000 last October — but it ranks as the largest by far. As a result, manufacturers of the batteries have to go that extra distance now to convince the public their products are safe.
The problem comes down to chemistry. Lithium-ion batteries that have cobalt oxide cathodes are more vulnerable to "thermal runaway" — meaning they can heat up uncontrollably as a result of a circuit failure or manufacturing defect. Eventually, they burst into flames or blow up.
But where there's crisis there's also opportunity. A number of companies working to develop superior and safer technologies are beginning to capture the attention of investors and big-name battery manufacturers in need of a new approach. A few are listed below:
Valence Technology Inc., based in Austin, Tex., makes lithium-ion batteries with a phosphate chemistry that eliminates the need for cobalt. The company, in an interview last year, claimed that this chemistry is safer because if thermal runaway is triggered the heating effect is limited.
"Phosphates are extremely stable in overcharge or short-circuit conditions and have the ability to withstand high temperatures without decomposing," the firm explains on its Web site. "When abuse does occur, phosphates are not prone to thermal runaway and will not burn."
Its Saphion battery is currently used in versions of the Segway Human Transporter, and is sold as a backup battery for laptops. The company also has its eyes on the plug-in hybrid-electric car market, where safe battery chemistry is of paramount concern. Valence doesn't sell internal laptop batteries, but perhaps this month's recalls will convince it to consider entering that market.
MTI Micro Fuel Cells Inc. of Albany, N.Y., makes direct methanol fuel cells for portable electronic gadgets. The fuel cell, embedded in a device, will begin producing power when a methanol cartridge is inserted. The methanol fuel reacts with a catalyst and produces the required electrical power.
While DMFC technology is accurately viewed as a rival to lithium-ion batteries, it's also a direct competitor to throwaway batteries and in many respects is more comparable. People don't recharge the methanol cartridges — they throw them away and buy new ones.
The advantage is that, according to MTI, a single cartridge costing $2 or $3 would last at least two times longer than a single lithium-ion charge and degradation wouldn't be an issue. MTI has entered an exclusive alliance with Samsung Electronics aimed at commercializing its fuel-cell technology.
The disadvantages? DMFC-based gadgets are likely more costly over time because you'll have to buy more cartridges. And while the longer run time may be ideal for air travel — where your typical lithium-ion battery usually lets you down — it's questionable whether letting a volatile methanol solution onto a plane will be allowed amid recent anti-terror efforts. It's tough enough getting toothpaste on board.
Zinc Matrix Power Inc. of Camarillo, Calif., has developed a rechargeable silver-zinc battery that, according to claims, "can deliver as much as two-times the energy in a similar volume as current lithium-ion batteries."
This isn't a next-generation lithium-ion battery. Rather, it's a polymer-based alkaline battery with a water-based chemistry. "This technology, like common flashlight batteries, uses a water-based electrolyte which, together with its low-pressure flexible plastic case work, minimizes the risk of fire or explosion due to abuse," the company stated in 2004 in
Intel is an investor and has been working with Zinc Matrix on a new battery for laptops. In June, the company also announced that it is working with a division of Tyco Electronics Corp. toward high-volume production.
EEStor Inc. in Cedar Park, Texas, doesn't call its technology a battery — patent documents refer to it as an ultracapacitor-based electrical energy storage system (EESU) that is ideal for electric vehicle propulsion, electricity grid applications and mobile devices, such as laptops and MP3 players.
Based on past investor presentations, the company claims its technology will increase the run time of a laptop or music player four-fold compared to lithium-ion batteries. It will recharge in minutes and can be charged and discharged almost infinitely without degradation.
It's also based on non-toxic, inert materials such as barium titanate powder.
"None of the EESU materials will explode when being recharged or impacted," the company says in patent documents, adding that the technology "does not have any material that is explosive, corrosive or hazardous."
Since The Star first wrote about EEStor in early March, the blogosphere has been buzzing with speculation about how this technology could change the world or, according to the sceptics, how the company is a scam.
EEStor continues to operate in "stealth" and has yet to put up a Web site. Investors, including high-profile venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, remain equally secretive. But behind the scenes materials and production testing is ongoing and a big announcement is expected this year.
Finally, for the true skeptics there's a Dublin-based firm called Steorn Ltd. that put an advertisement in The Economist on Aug. 18 claiming it has developed a technology that produces "clean, free and constant energy" that's ideal for everything from cellphones to cars.
The story is curious, if not completely bizarre. The firm claims it accidentally discovered that if it arranged magnets a certain way the interaction of the magnetic fields produced free energy.
Sean McCarthy, the company's chief executive, says he took out the expensive advertisement to get the attention of the world's leading scientists. He wants to set up a panel of the 12 top physics scientists so the company's claims can be publicly verified or debunked.
Most observers are calling it a hoax, given that the six-year-old company claims to have broken the laws of physics.
But McCarthy says he was forced to go this route because he's been faced with a wall of skepticism at every turn. Some scientists have looked at and validated the technology but none want to go on the record, he says.
Scientists have until Sept. 8 to respond to the ad, and more than 3,000 already have. The company expects the panel to begin its rigorous testing of the technology before the end of this year.
Is this a perverse social experiment, an elaborate hoax with a hidden motive, or a genuine breakthrough that could solve the world's energy woes?
Heck, it's more exciting than a Dell battery recall.
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