Very interesting company. They started with a way to produce graphene at scale, then went looking for something to do with it. Their first idea was to use it as a cement additive. They have since used it as friction reducer in engine oil, and are selling it in Australia, Canada, and soon the US, as a radiator coating to improve HVAC performance.
Battery news is always like this has never in my lifetime lead to revolutionary changes. We had tons of incremental changes though!
You’re right, battery news IS always breathlessly excited about the next crazy advancement, but they have a lot of things in their favor on this one. They broke ground on a manufacturing plant last year, which is not the case for most battery news stories. And the battery uses no rare earth metals, is non flammable, and performes better by nearly every metric than lithium ion. If they make it to market, I think they will absolutely be revolutionary.
The switch from NiCad to the mass adoption of LiPo was pretty revolutionary in my eyes. That might just be me showing my age though 😅
Lithium-polymer batteries didn’t take off until the 2000s. Those (and the lithium-ion they were built on) were pretty revolutionary, at least as much as this aluminum-ion is supposed to be. That ought to count. (Unless you’re less than 20 years old, in which case “never in my lifetime” is probably accurate, and you should count yourself lucky that you never had to deal with arrays of D batteries, or the mediocre but technically rechargeable nickel-cadmium batteries.)
That makes me wonder if there’s more modern versions of the AA and AAA batteries that use the newer tech to last longer (and hopefully not leak if left alone for a while). All the ones I have here just say “alkaline” and I’m not sure if that’s a category that includes newer lithium batteries or if it’s just the same old tech.
Yes, you can get rechargeable lithium batteries in the standard form factors like AA or AAA. They should work for most things, but the voltage is a bit different and of course you must use the right charger. They’ve been out for quite a few years and even the main brands sell them now
Ha! Same thought at pretty much the same time. Good to see you fellow elder.
Yeah, I remember having to put extra batteries in some devices, because the 1.5v AA alkalines vs. 1.2v AA NiCads add up when you need 10 of them.
You must be in your early 20s. People who have used nickel-cadmium will never forget how shitty they were.
My RadioShack Golden Arrow was a beast with those 7.2v NiCads.
… for 5 minutes
People who have never used dry cell batteries haven’t a clue.
NiMH batteries weren’t that awesome either.
I still like them. All their devices had replaceable batteries.
I don’t think NiCd batteries where too bad.