LONDON — Scientists at Tel Aviv University have developed and patented a nanobattery technology for fast charge/discharge batteries that they claim could provide an alternative source of power for mobile devices while eliminating fire hazards associated with current lithium-based batteries.
The university's technology transfer arm, Ramot, is actively seeking industrial partners to license and commercialize the nanobattery technology.
It was developed by research teams led by Menachem Nathan, a professor at the university's Fleischmann Faculty of Engineering and by professors Emanuel Peled and Dina Golodnitsky of the School of Chemistry. The device includes about 30,000 miniature batteries on an area as small as 1 cm2 connected in parallel.
This architecture is said to provide high electrical power output without the risk of overheating, a major cause of flammability in laptop computer and other mobile batteries.
The design combines low internal resistance characteristics of thin-film batteries with the high capacity of regular chargeable lithium-ion batteries. Using proprietary coating technologies, tens of thousands of miniature lithium batteries were laid out in parallel within a 0.5-mm-thick nonconducting substrate.
Substrate volume was used to increase charge capacity per footprint, as high as 10mAh/cm2, or more than 80 times higher than similar cathode thickness planar thin-film batteries. The assemblies were tested in the lab for hundreds of charge/discharge cycles without loss of capacity and stability, the researchers said.
Lithium-ion batteries operated at high temperatures can pose a fire hazard. The researchers suggested that nanobatteries can reduce fire hazards.
Dell Inc. recalled millions of its Sony-made lithium-ion batteries used in laptop PCs, saying they could overheat, posing a fire risk.
