Batteries are essential in smartphones, laptops and electric cars. The only problem is that they take a relatively long time to charge, which is annoying, especially with electric cars. A Dutch company found a solution: a battery that can be charged in just five minutes. But how exactly does it work? And can ordinary consumers already buy them?
It was the Dutch company LeydenJar that presented the battery to the general public at the CES technology fair. The company has already won an innovation award and recently received a EUR 30 million investment from the European Investment Bank. Their slogan is therefore promising: “With our technology, you can take a train from Amsterdam to Munich and fully charge the battery within five minutes”. But how did they do it?
The trick lies in the use of silicon as a raw material. “A smartphone battery is usually made up of a stack of layers. They always have a plus and a minus pole,” Ewout Lubberman, head of product management, told RTL Nieuws. “We replace the negative pole with a kind of foil. It is made of silicon, a material extracted from sand. Thanks to this small change, the battery gets twice as much energy and has twice the storage capacity.” As a result, drones, for example, can fly longer and a smartphone lasts much longer.
Can ordinary citizens use it?
The project is currently in its infancy. The first Leydenjar factory in Brabant, the Netherlands, will not open until 2026. After all, the company is still struggling with a technical problem. If you charge a battery with silicone foil, the raw material swells about 300 times. This causes cracks. The battery tears relatively quickly and can only be used a hundred times.
Large-scale production can only start once this problem has been solved. Although that will certainly not be a problem. LeydenJar has already struck deals with companies such as automaker BMW. So the chances are good that the battery will also come onto the market with us at some point.
Source : HLN
