Along with the innovation, by creating a denser battery, is the idea of a smartphone that will be designed on a slimmer appearance. Samsung, however, may have struck gold with their breakthrough. As reported by Engadget, the battery uses a silicon anode – which offers more capacity than a traditional battery – with layers of graphene on top “to improve the density and longevity that would otherwise suffer”. The exact battery charge is undisclosed though, Samsung will probably be releasing updates throughout the year concerning this battery’s development.
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A report in The Korea Times said that LG is working with a major technology firm to develop a device powered by this battery, but that’s the only information being given away at the moment. It is not clear whether the company will be teaming up with EV manufacturers such as General Motors, who recently unleashed the all-electric Chevrolet Bolt. Now the researchers are looking to deploy these batteries for grid-scale applications, but could see them being used in electric vehicles, where weight and volume are crucial.
To get around the expansion issue, Samsung’s researchers say they can take that silicon and grow some carbide-free graphene on it as a coating.
In comparison to the existing current lithium batteries, this is said to double the energy density. Like with other promising battery technologies, don’t expect this one to be manifest on store shelves anytime soon. While camera functions, processing speeds and storage space have significantly improved over the years, smartphone battery life has fallen behind as sleeker, more powerful devices are pushed. The result is a battery that lasts 1.8-1.5 times as long thanks to the layered structure of Samsung’s graphene.
Are you ready for a new era in mobile device history?
Once the new technology has been patented and commercialized, maybe Samsung will think about playing the video again.
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But luckily, advancements in this technology continued to be made. The usage of the new graphene-based cathodes is still being researched, so it will be some time before products begin shipping with the new batteries.
