It's strange that although we keep hearing that futuristic batteries with amazing staying power are just around the corner, we still have to put up with a pretty disappointing reality. Still, a new development from the UK at least looks promising.
The STAIR - or St Andrews Air - battery comes from researchers at St Andrews University (you guessed that one, right?), Newcastle and Strathclyde Universities and has the potential to last ten times longer than current lithium-based cells.
Light and powerful
By using oxygen as a reagent instead of more traditional chemicals the STAIR battery is both more powerful and lighter, making it suitable for everything from portable gadgets to electric cars.
In operation, the battery draws oxygen from the air and causes it to react with porous carbon to create an electrical discharge.
Cheap to make
Lead researcher Peter Bruce explains: " Not only is this part of the process free, the carbon component is much cheaper than current technology."
The team still has two years of research to complete, but it estimates it will be another five years before we see a commercial STAIR battery.
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mikebyday
May 28th 2009
1. If the UK government has any sense they will fast-track this development to the max and pour money into it.
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