New Technology Promises Longer Battery Life

New Technology Promises Longer Battery Life

Friday, May 02, 2008 - by Daniel A. Begun
It has often been said that patience is a virtue. Patience can also be profitable. For the last 10 years or so, ZPower--a battery technology company in California--has been been busy toiling away on a silver-zinc rechargeable technology that aims to replace the lithium-ion battery technology that is so ubiquitous of late in portable products:

"ZPower's efforts are based on existing silver zinc technology, offering greater power density (essentially, how much electricity a battery can hold) than lithium ion, thus requiring fewer recharges before becoming useless. The battery will hold a charge about 40 percent longer than the normal four-hour period."

Getting laptops to regularly last past four hours of battery life has been the Holy Grail of laptop design for quite some time. Small efficiencies in power consumption have been made in the last few years with lower-power processors, displays, and components; but these improvements typically add up to only small increases in battery life--somewhere in the 10 to 15-percent range at best.

We've been hearing for some time now about potential new battery technologies that can provide significant improvements in battery life, such as hydrogen-cell batteries. But ZPower's silver-zinc-based batteries represent the first new viable technology that's actually ready for market. With financial backing from Intel, U.S. Army-based venture-capital OnePoint Technologies fund, and private-equity group PowerVentures, ZPower "will unveil its first product through a major technology partner in August."

In addition to being a more efficient battery technology, it is also more eco-friendly with recyclable components and a ZPower-sponsored refund/credit-based recycling program. ZPower claims to hold 16 patents on rechargeable silver-zinc battery technology.
Via: CNBC | News Archive | Tags: Tech
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Comments

By willardcw4 on May 2, 2008

Wow, it sounds amazing. Having a laptop that will last through 2 or 3 movies on a plane ride is something i've been wanting for a long time :)

Can't wait til august!

By Super Dave on May 2, 2008

I'm still amazed at the battery technology that powered the Terminator in the original movie. All they would need to do is just solve the little disposal problem...

By Crisis Causer on May 2, 2008

Great.  I for one have never really seriously considered getting a laptop precicely for the battery reasons.  I want 8 hours of normal use before I'm interested in one.  It'll come eventually I'm sure.  Until then I will stick with desktops and their lack of mobility. 

By Lev_Astov on May 2, 2008

Excellent news! I've heard about several major battery advancements in the works, and the first is finally here. Hoorah!

By coolzonestefan on May 4, 2008

There is also a solution to prolong battery life of mobile phones,laptops by mounting a sticker like surface on the batteries and it is made of carbon nanotubes 

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