THE ONE THING holding smartphones back and other similar devices is the battery life. The technology has improved immensely, but lithium-ion batteries have struggled to keep up.

Instead, developing a new type of battery could be the way forward.

Scientists from Stanford University have invented the first high-performance aluminium-ion battery that is not only fast-charging, but is also long-lasting.

The battery can be charged in one minute, is inexpensive (as aluminium is cheaper than lithium) and is flexible. Also, the materials used are safer than lithium-ion batteries, meaning the aluminium-ion won’t catch fire, making them a safer alternative.

The battery has a longer lifespan than traditional batteries, withstanding more than 7,500 recharge cycles without any loss of capacity.

The one major obstacle it faces is matching the voltage lithium-ion batteries offer. Currently, this aluminium-ion battery offers half the voltage you would get from a typical battery, but the researchers believe that this could be overcome.

Hongjie Dai, a professor of chemistry at Stanford, told the Stanford News while improvements were needed to match the voltage, it has all the features a new battery requires.

“Our battery produces about half the voltage of a typical lithium battery, but improving the cathode material could eventually increase the voltage and energy density. Otherwise, our battery has everything else you’d dream that a battery should have: inexpensive electrodes, good safety, high-speed charging, flexibility and long cycle life. I see this as a new battery in its early days. It’s quite exciting.”

The paper will be published in the scientific journal Nature later this week.

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