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Article seems to be a little confused about what "power density" means, as opposed to "energy density". From the article: "Such batteries provide a 20 to 30 per
by mnw21cam 11y ago
Article seems to be a little confused about what "power density" means, as opposed to "energy density". From the article: "Such batteries provide a 20 to 30 percent improvement in power density — with a corresponding increase in how long a battery of a given size could power a phone, a computer, or a car." No - a 20 to 30 percent greater power density means that you can drain the battery 20 to 30 percent faster by drawing more power. It doesn't mean that there is 20 to 30 percent more energy to draw out.
- JoeAltmaier 11y agoFurther, it takes a doubling in capacity/current to be worth commercializing. Nobody wants to re-tool for 20%.
- asb 11y agoA significant increase in the lifetime (number of discharge cycles is compelling though). Plus I'm sure if the technology is commercialised, those with vested interests will be keen to lobby that solid-state batteries are required in electric vehicles due to the claimed safety benefits.
- JoeAltmaier 11y agoCertainly legislation and regulation will be big market shapers. I personally think we should jump on every improvement, because it benefits society. But the cost is currently born by the factory owners, and they selfishly want to depreciate everything out before retooling.
- duaneb 11y agoI don't think it's as grim as you are making it out to be. Especially for companies like Tesla and apple, the use of the product is directly tied to the battery. I just think it is a difficult problem.
- JoeAltmaier 11y agoMy niece is in this space (battery research/startups). They keep failing, even with 20% improvements in whatever, because nobody will retool. So yes, that's about how grim it is.
- bmir-alum-007 11y agoYeah, they're very different properties. Supercapacitors deliver a ton of power but hold a small fraction of the energy of a similar li-po battery.