A new battery technology could increase the power packed into phones, cars, and smartwatches by 30% or more within the next few years. The new lithium-silicon batteries, nearing production-ready status thanks to startups including Sila Technologies and Angstron Materials, will leapfrog marginal improvements in existing lithium-ion batteries.
Recent promises of breakthrough battery technology have often amounted to little, but veteran Wall Street Journal tech reporter Christopher Mims believes lithium-silicon is the real thing. So do BMW, Intel, and Qualcomm, all of of which are backing the development of the new batteries.
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The core innovation is building anodes, one of the main components of any battery, primarily from silicon. Silicon anodes hold more power than today’s graphite-based versions, but are often delicate or short-lived in real-world applications. Sila Technologies has built prototypes that solve the problem by using silicon and graphene nanoparticles to make the technology more durable, and says its design can store 20% to 40% more energy than today’s lithium-ions. Several startups are competing to build the best lithium-silicon batteries, though, and one —Enovix, backed by Intel and Qualcomm — says its approach could pack as much as 50% more energy into a smartphone.
One of the major battery suppliers for both Apple and Samsung is Amperex Technology, which has a strategic investment partnership with Sila. That could point to much more long-lasting mobile devices on the way. The new batteries, Amperex Chief Operating Officer Joe Kit Chu Lam told the Journal, will probably be announced in a consumer device within the next two years. BMW also says it aims to incorporate the technology in an electric car by 2023, increasing power capacity by 10% to 15% over lithium-ion batteries.