this post was submitted on 11 Jan 2025
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[–] P1nkman 37 points 1 day ago (10 children)

I've read news about better battery technology for YEARS, and then nothing. Repeat the cycle.

Let me know when it's released to the public and actually usable.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 24 minutes ago

Lots of small, incremental improvements. The news predictably is always promising a huge breakthrough

[–] Xeroxchasechase 41 points 1 day ago

But the battery technology did improve in these years.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 day ago

In my lifetime, about the only rechargeable battery the average person had in their home was the one in their car. Now we've added 4 new major battery chemistries to the commercial space, some with multiple variants within them and all with improvements throughout their lifetimes. This is what science and technology looks like. The results you're looking for would be magic or wishful thinking.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 day ago

You're expecting revolution. You're getting evolution.

[–] Ghostalmedia 22 points 1 day ago

You need to look at battery lab research on a 10-20 year time before it gets commercialized at scale.

Moreover, go look at your rechargeable batteries from 10 or 20 years ago. They’re heavier, less energy dense, have shorter lifespans, have much slower charge rates. A lot of those advancement started in a lab and look many years to make it to your laptop or car.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 day ago

How many years?

The amount of utility I accidentally extract from my phone over the course of a day on one charge is pretty incredible.

[–] halcyoncmdr 9 points 1 day ago

Well, it only looks like nothing because our power demands have increased as well.

Current Lithium Ion Polymer batteries are a far cry from the ones of a decade ago, despite being very similar tech.

The main issue with most of these alternative battery approaches are either low capacity, or low charge cycles. Finding a chemistry that both packs enough power in a small enough package to run devices for long term, and that don't wear out quickly is difficult.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago

The latest Chinese smartphones use new S/C batteries. They have a capacity of 6000-7000 mAh with even less overall weight.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

It doesn't have to be better it just has to be Goodenough.

[–] Vikthor 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 day ago

Yet his legacy lives on.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 day ago

Writing headlines is a selection process. You write about all the useless but cool stuff while ignoring all the boring but important stuff.

Improving Li-ion by 1% doesn’t make headlines, but that sort of stuff has been going on in the background for a few decades already. That’s why current batteries are so useful and widespread.

Lab prototypes are sexy, even if they’re 50 years away from becoming commercially viable. Sure, these things can charge fast, or hold a huge capacity, but they also tend to die after 10 cycles. Fixing that is going to take a long time, just like it did for Li-ion batteries.