QuantumSphere Promises Li-Ion Battery With Up to Five Times Higher Capacity

By Priya Ganapati
Wired
Eptember 17, 2008

Imagine battery life on a cellphone or laptop that is about five times the current capacity. That means not charging the cellphone for at least four days or using the laptop battery for more than twelve hours at a stretch.

QuantumSphere, a Santa Ana, Calif. -based company says it is working on a technology that will make this possible by the end of next year as it increases the capacity of Lithium-Ion batteries by up to five times.

Currently, the anode capacity in Li-Ion batteries is limited to 10% of its weight, says Subra Iyer, principal technologist at QuantumSphere. But the company has been able to extend it to 50% of the anode weight, leading to batteries that can last longer.

“The anode structure that we used has pore size of the order of 10 nanometers to 20 nanometers where we have the lithium,” says Iyer. “We have dramatically increased the surface area.”The new anode structure enriched with nano lithium particles increases the fuel source in a rechargeable Li-Ion battery and allows the battery to hold more charge.

Batteries featuring this technology could significantly improve the operating life of portable consumer electronics and hybrid-electric vehicle ranges, says Kevin Maloney, president and CEO of QuantumSphere.

Li-Ion batteries are the mainstay of most consumer electronic devices currently including laptops, cell phones, PDAs, and even iPods.

The company plans to now focus on the battery cathode in a bid to bring it to higher levels.

So far, QuantumSphere has raised about $20 million in funding and has filed a patent for its work.

The company says it is likely to contract manufacturing to China and hopes to start commercial production in six months to a year.

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