New battery design without heavy metals could outperform lithium-ion

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Lots of very nice words - if they’re true, this would be a Very Good Thing. Reality, however, may have the last word :slight_smile:

These are the folks who wrote their name by moving single atoms around, using a machine they invented. I’m sure the scientists are a lot more cautious than the publicity people, but don’t sell them short.

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I looked at the date but it wasn’t the 1st of April…

Not at all - but I think it’s entirely fair to point out that its a long way from a lab to a technology that works in the real world. It is a wonderful thing that they’ve eliminated the heavy metals, which are a major pitfall of current battery tech - but there are many other sides to the problem. The sheer amount of energy being stored means that “unplanned release” has serious implications, even if the materials are less or not toxic, and the problems associated with moving that amount of energy aren’t trivial, either.
I wish them well - we definitely need better battery tech, at all scales – but we also need to remember that better batteries alone are not the whole answer, as the energy we fill them with has to come from somewhere!

Agree all.

No pluses without minuses. There is always a price to pay in the end.

That would explain why the power company sends me a bill every month.

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That is pretty cheeky…

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The Japanese has developed a battery that is 90% cheaper than today’s L-I batteries:

Using resin in place of metals and electrolytes make it safer, but there is a catch: