Building a Better Battery

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03/13/2009

Mar. 13, 2009

Building a Better Battery

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Scientists say a modification to the design of lithium-ion batteries could allow batteries that can charge and discharge in a matter of seconds. Writing in the journal Nature, the team from MIT describe modifying the surface of a sample of lithium iron phosphate to improve the mobility of the lithium ions in the material. Before the processing step, a battery made from one sample of the lithium iron phosphate took six minutes to charge. After processing, batteries using the material were able to charge in under twenty seconds.

Fast-charging and discharging batteries could be of use in a variety of applications, from portable electronics to advanced cars. We'll talk about the work, and how soon it might be able to find its way into consumer products.

Produced by Charles Bergquist, Director and Contributing Producer

Guests

Gerbrand Ceder
Professor of Materials Science and Engineering

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Mar. 13, 2009