PLANNING AND LEADERSHIP FOR A BETTER WORLD
PLANNING AND LEADERSHIP FOR A BETTER WORLD Going green seems to be the zeitgeist of the century. From green lightbulbs to green cars, almost everything comes in an eco-friendly version these days, and there has long been talk of developing batteries to help provide renewable energy for a variety of devices. Unfortunately, the technology just hasn’t come together—until now. Laptop batteries (and those for other devices) are just the next in a series of green living products offered to thousands of Earth-friendly consumers.
Thanks to research performed by scientists at the
Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, we could soon be powering our laptops
with air. Their findings were published in the October
2009 issue of Electrochemistry
Communications, and they’re rather exciting.
The devices are expected to be incredibly light and have an unending shelf-life. The batteries range in size from an inch to a third of an inch. In terms of battery life, professor Yair Ein-Eli, the researcher on the project, says that at 600 hours the battery used only 10 percent of its energy. “So we are talking about 6,000 hours,” says the professor.
Unlike conventional batteries, the new green battery is built from oxygen and silicon and uses one electrode not two, providing more power. Oxygen inside the battery interacts with oxidized silicon through a membrane. The oxidized silicon is non-polluting and reverts to sand when finished, making the battery particularly eco-friendly.
The battery is expected to be resilient, tolerating weather conditions most conventional batteries simply can’t. Even the extreme heat and dry nature of a desert aren’t too much for these batteries, and while most don’t drag their laptops to the Sahara on a regular basis, there is a great need for batteries such as these in medical applications in environments like that around the globe. From hearing aids to medical monitors of all kinds, doctors and nurses could use technology like this to save lives on a daily basis.
Already in use in hearing aids, major manufacturers are trying to adapt the technology for use in cars and other devices. Both Toyota and Panasonic are working on developing the technology for their own purposes, which may lead to a race among other companies in similar industries. Ein-Eli suggests that before the next five years are out, research will help batteries like these get more power as well as the ability to recharge. Within the next decade, car batteries could be made using that same technology.
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