Battery Breakthrough Promises Lighter Weight, More Power: "Researchers at MIT say they have made a breakthrough in lithium-air battery technology that could enable gadget batteries to be three times lighter — while delivering three times as much battery life.
Lithium-air batteries have a lithium anode that is electrochemically coupled to atmospheric oxygen through an air cathode. By contrast, current lithium-ion batteries have a carbon anode and a metal oxide-based cathode.
“There’s huge potential for lithium-air batteries,” says Vishal Sapru, industry manager for power and energy system at research firm Frost & Sullivan. “The combination of lithium anode and air cathode not only makes them lighter than lithium-ion but also offers higher energy density.”
Sapru estimates that a typical lithium-air battery can offer energy density of 1800 watts per kilogram compared to about 120 to 350 watts per kilogram seen in lithium-ion batteries.
Wired News - http://www.wired.com/rss/index.xml