Featuring everyone's favourite technology panacea – carbon nanorods – the system works in a similar way to standard lithium ion batteries: energy is stored in one electrode and released via the second. Unlike standard lithium ion batteries, however, the material is paired with mesoporous carbon nanorods joined by sulphur – allowing the team to charge the device up to 84 percent of the theoretical maximum capacity of sulphur.
Another advantage of the new technology is in weight reduction: the new material is able to store 1,200 watt-hours per kilogramme, compared to just 500 watt-hours per kilogramme for standard lithium ion batteries. This offers a choice: batteries can stay the same weight and hold a great deal more charge, or can slim down dramatically while still offering the same battery life for your devices.
Lithium sulphur promises to triple battery life
Posted on Sunday, June 14 2009 @ 3:26 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck
Researchers at Canada's University of Waterloo have discovered a new battery technology that uses lithium sulphur - this breakthrough may lead to batteries with almost three times as much battery life as lithium ion batteries.