# New battery design without heavy metals could outperform lithium-ion **URL:** \ **Category:** Scuttlebutt\ **Created:** [December 20, 2019, 4:08pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/new-battery-design-without-heavy-metals-could-outperform-lithium-ion/53630 "2019-12-20T16:08:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dutchie](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/dutchie/32/170_2.png) [@Dutchie](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Dutchie)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 4:08pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/new-battery-design-without-heavy-metals-could-outperform-lithium-ion/53630/1 "2019-12-20T16:08:38Z")
> **[Free of Heavy Metals, New Battery Design Could Alleviate Environmental...](https://www.ibm.com/blogs/research/2019/12/heavy-metal-free-battery/)** > > Today, IBM Research is building on a long history of materials science innovation to unveil a new battery discovery. This new research could help eliminate the need for heavy metals in battery production and transform the long-term sustainability of... ---
**Author:** ![Hartley](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/hartley/32/7603_2.png) [@Hartley](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Hartley)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 3:18am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/new-battery-design-without-heavy-metals-could-outperform-lithium-ion/53630/2 "2019-12-21T03:18:11Z")
Lots of very nice words - if they’re true, this would be a Very Good Thing. Reality, however, may have the last word 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![dbeierl](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/dbeierl/32/11833_2.png) [@dbeierl](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/dbeierl)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 4:00am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/new-battery-design-without-heavy-metals-could-outperform-lithium-ion/53630/3 "2019-12-21T04:00:12Z")
> [@Hartley](#): > > if they’re true, this would be a Very Good Thing. 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. ![](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/gcaptain_maritime_forum/original/2X/3/3833137ecc76b031c20eb7094923167044fd9714.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![Dutchie](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/dutchie/32/170_2.png) [@Dutchie](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Dutchie)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 9:47am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/new-battery-design-without-heavy-metals-could-outperform-lithium-ion/53630/4 "2019-12-21T09:47:19Z")
I looked at the date but it wasn’t the 1st of April… ---
**Author:** ![Hartley](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/hartley/32/7603_2.png) [@Hartley](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Hartley)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 2:36pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/new-battery-design-without-heavy-metals-could-outperform-lithium-ion/53630/5 "2019-12-21T14:36:40Z")
> [@dbeierl](#): > > but don’t sell them short. 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! ---
**Author:** ![dbeierl](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/dbeierl/32/11833_2.png) [@dbeierl](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/dbeierl)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 3:10pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/new-battery-design-without-heavy-metals-could-outperform-lithium-ion/53630/6 "2019-12-21T15:10:23Z")
Agree all. ---
**Author:** ![Dutchie](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/dutchie/32/170_2.png) [@Dutchie](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Dutchie)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 3:23pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/new-battery-design-without-heavy-metals-could-outperform-lithium-ion/53630/7 "2019-12-21T15:23:32Z")
No pluses without minuses. There is always a price to pay in the end. ---
**Author:** ![Kennebec\_Captain](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/kennebec_captain/32/13_2.png) [@Kennebec\_Captain](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Kennebec_Captain)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 3:28pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/new-battery-design-without-heavy-metals-could-outperform-lithium-ion/53630/8 "2019-12-21T15:28:06Z")
> [@Dutchie](#): > > There is always a price to pay in the end. That would explain why the power company sends me a bill every month. ---
**Author:** ![Dutchie](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/dutchie/32/170_2.png) [@Dutchie](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Dutchie)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 4:02pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/new-battery-design-without-heavy-metals-could-outperform-lithium-ion/53630/9 "2019-12-21T16:02:56Z")
That is pretty cheeky… ---
**Author:** ![ombugge](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/ombugge/32/11217_2.png) [@ombugge](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/ombugge)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2020, 3:44pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/new-battery-design-without-heavy-metals-could-outperform-lithium-ion/53630/10 "2020-07-13T15:44:48Z")
The Japanese has developed a battery that is 90% cheaper than today’s L-I batteries: > **[Japanese firm invents new, safer and 90% cheaper polymer batteries](https://www.inceptivemind.com/japanese-new-safer-cheaper-polymer-batteries/14280/)** > > The new type of battery is 90% cheaper than standard lithium-ion batteries and potentially much safer. Using resin in place of metals and electrolytes make it safer, but there is a catch: > [@](#): > > While the battery addresses the safety and cost issues of lithium-ion batteries, the resin material is less conductive than metal, so the carrying capacity would be reduced.