No negative battery can subvert electric steam

There is no doubt that the boom in smart hardware is coming. If the smart hardware necessary battery problems are resolved, smart hardware industry will happen earth-shaking changes

From Apple, Google to BAT, from abroad to the country, Internet companies to enter the smart hardware market has become a wave, and even the industry that the 2014 smart hardware industry is the first year of the outbreak. It is predicted that the next two to three years, the global market size of intelligent hardware is expected to reach 30 billion to 50 billion US dollars. At the same time, according to market research firm Juniper Research data show that in 2014 the world can only wear equipment market size can reach more than 1.5 billion US dollars, to 2018 will reach 19 billion US dollars.
Constraints on the further development of smart hardware bottlenecks - battery technology, recently in the United States MIT (MIT) to achieve a revolutionary breakthrough. The newly developed "no negative battery" will subvert the traditional lithium battery industry for more than 20 years, and is expected to be put into use in the next 1-2 years, making the smart phone become thin as a card, mobile phone standby time and electric car mileage Turn, and the battery price becomes lower.

This third generation of lithium batteries use an ultra-thin to almost no metal negative and more secure electrolyte. According to the US authority of the independent battery test laboratory A123 company in October this year to verify that its 2Ah product prototype energy density reached 1337 watts per liter (Wh / L), which exceeds the current Apple, Samsung, millet and Tes Pull the battery energy density of 2 times, this one breakthrough in the world's highest record, also received, including the United States R & D100 Award (scientific and technological innovation Oscar) and the US Department of Energy Clean Energy Award and a series of well-known scientific and technological innovation awards.

The technology was developed by Dr. Hu Qizhong of MIT and Professor Donald Sadoway. Under the incubation of the school, the two scientists also led an MIT entrepreneurial team to form SolidEnergy, To promote the industrialization of scientific and technological achievements, and access to the MIT-related patents worldwide exclusive right to use. The company received $ 4.5 million in round financing in 2013, including Singapore's Temasek.

According to Citibank's latest report, the global rechargeable lithium battery market in 2014 up to 21 billion US dollars, of which 12 billion US dollars from consumer electronics products, 3.5 billion from the electric car. Conservative estimates, the global rechargeable lithium battery market in 2020 reached 35 billion US dollars, including 14.7 billion US dollars from consumer electronics products, 10 billion US dollars from the electric car, an average annual growth of 10%. As people increasingly use smart hardware, the actual lithium battery market will be far greater than this conservative estimate.

Professor Donald Sidley is a world-renowned battery expert and one of the most influential people in the world in 2012. His previous battery project was supported by Bill Gates, Microsoft's chairman. Dr. Hu Qi graduated from Harvard University, is the 2012 Forbes named the world's 30 30 years old one of the outstanding scientists.
According to the US Department of Energy's definition, the first generation of lithium batteries using graphite anode, up to 600 Wh / L energy density; second generation of lithium batteries using silicon anode, the maximum can achieve about 800 Wh / L energy density; Generation and the second generation are the traditional lithium-ion battery. While the third generation of lithium batteries will use a higher energy density of metal negative even to achieve no negative, can exceed 1000 Wh / L of energy density.
Experts said that despite the past 20 years, all kinds of technology development by leaps and bounds, the computer's size is greatly reduced, and now the new smart watch computing power than the Apollo moon spacecraft are strong, but the most popular rechargeable battery lithium-ion battery technology has been Stagnant.

"The process of industrialization of electric vehicles depends largely on the progress of battery technology.Currently, many global battery technology innovation indicates that this process will accelerate, especially if there can be subversive battery technology, the entire electric vehicle industry and business Model may have unexpected changes, "the State Council Development Research Center, said Zhang Yongwei, deputy director of the Institute of Enterprise.

The battery consists of four parts: positive, negative, electrolyte and diaphragm.
Most of the battery companies are in the production of cathode materials, the traditional consumer electronics products are usually used in high-energy density of lithium cobalt oxide (LCO). The research and development cycle of the cathode material is very fast, generally every year 5% of the energy density of the upgrade, but this innovation is very gradual and fragmented, and different applications and companies will choose a different positive.

"In the negative side, innovation is relatively difficult to a lot, generally every 10 years to 20 years only a big breakthrough, which is why the battery by the negative decision belongs to which generation," Dr. Hu said.

The current negative is mainly graphite-based, the advantage is very mature and cheap, shortcomings energy density is very low. In the negative provider, there is little technical difference, mainly by reducing costs to compete. Electrolyte aspects are very diverse and decentralized, but the difference is very small. Some of the core technologies in the diaphragm are dominated by Japanese and US companies, with high profits, but with the advancement of advanced technology, their strengths and monopolies are gradually disappearing.

In order to promote the core innovation of the battery industry, SolidEnergy is focused on developing a new generation of negative materials and matching them with different cathode materials to lay the foundation for large-scale popularization.
"In the future we want to be a provider of materials for focusing on batteries and electrolytes, and we have worked with a number of battery companies and consumer electronics companies, including Apple and Samsung, to test battery materials," said Dr. Hu.

"Before mass production, we still need to address many manufacturing processes, such as uniformity and purity, and the main challenge is to ensure that the material is still of the same purity and uniformity as the laboratory at large scale, "He added.
At present, SolidEnergy is actively preparing, if all goes well, will be launched in the fall of 2015 consumer electronics battery materials, the autumn of 2016 launch of electric vehicle battery materials, is expected in 2016, SolidEnergy production can support 10 million smart phones and smart watches.