Image: SLAC
Cross-posted from petapixel.com [by Jeremy Gray]
Scientists at the SLAC-Stanford Battery Center in Menlo Park, California, have found a surprising way to improve lithium-ion battery lifespan by 50%.
The novel discovery shows that a lithium-ion battery’s first charge is “more momentous than it sounds.” The nature of the first charge determines a battery’s performance and lifespan (how many times it can be charged and discharged before it deteriorates).
Dying lithium-ion batteries are an all-too-familiar problem for everyone, as nearly all modern electronics rely on lithium-ion batteries, including smartphones, laptops, tablets, and cameras.
Researchers at SLAC-Stanford Battery Center report in a study published today in Joule that giving batteries their first charge “at unusually high currents increased their average lifespan by 50% while decreasing the initial charging time from 10 hours to just 20 minutes.”