Shin-Etsu Chemical plans to begin mass production, in three to four years, of material that would enable one-week battery life. July 31, 2013 9:25 PM PDT Imagine getting a week's worth of battery life out of one charge. That's what Japan's Shin-Etsu Chemical is intimating. (Credit: Samsung) Shin-Etsu Chemical thinks new material it has developed could boost battery life by tenfold. Needless to say, even if the company achieved a fraction of that, it would be groundbreaking. The new development replaces traditional carbon-based material in lithium-ion batteries with silicon, according to a report in the Japanese-language version of Nikkei -- which didn't provide much detail about the technology. Related stories Best Buy recalls MacBook Pro replacement batteries due to 'burn hazards' Sulfur-based tech the answer to burnable lithium-ion batteries? Though the cost is higher than carbon-based materials, the expected tenfold increase in battery life would -- theoretically -- effectively obviate the need to frequently re-charge smartphones, Nikkei said. The material would have applications to electric car batteries too. Shin-Etsu has begun shipping samples to domestic and foreign battery makers and plans to have a facility for trial manufacturing of the material by 2014. Commercial mass production is targeted in three to four years.
Shin-Etsu Chemical plans to begin mass production, in three to four years, of material that would enable one-week battery life.
Imagine getting a week's worth of battery life out of one charge. That's what Japan's Shin-Etsu Chemical is intimating.
(Credit: Samsung)
Shin-Etsu Chemical thinks new material it has developed could boost battery life by tenfold. Needless to say, even if the company achieved a fraction of that, it would be groundbreaking.
The new development replaces traditional carbon-based material in lithium-ion batteries with silicon, according to a report in the Japanese-language version of Nikkei -- which didn't provide much detail about the technology.
Related stories
- Best Buy recalls MacBook Pro replacement batteries due to 'burn hazards'
- Sulfur-based tech the answer to burnable lithium-ion batteries?
Though the cost is higher than carbon-based materials, the expected tenfold increase in battery life would -- theoretically -- effectively obviate the need to frequently re-charge smartphones, Nikkei said.
The material would have applications to electric car batteries too.
Shin-Etsu has begun shipping samples to domestic and foreign battery makers and plans to have a facility for trial manufacturing of the material by 2014.
Commercial mass production is targeted in three to four years.
