Sony lithium-ion battery might not be commercially available until 2020
According to reports, Sony has developed a new lithium-ion battery that, although potentially not available to consumers for a few more years, offers a 40% gain in battery life as compared to what’s on the market now.
Japanese tech media outlet Nikkei Technology first reported Sony had advanced battery technology, which has been a major splinter for smartphone makers looking to balance higher power applications with comparatively limited battery life.
Battery life is measured in terms of density per volume or Wh/L. The new Sony batteries come in at a claimed 1,000 Wh/L compared to around 700 Wh/L for commercially available batteries.
According to Nikkei Technology, “Sony intends to commercialize the batteries as laminate batteries for smartphones first and, then, target them at other applications. The company aims to exploit the large capacity of the batteries and have them employed for various devices including mobile devices and robots.”
Sony is reportedly gaining the battery life boost by trying lithium-ion variants that include sulphur and magnesium.
A post to Android Community explains: “The explanation for this is that Li-S battery takes advantage of metal lithium for the negative electrode and a sulfur compound for positive electrode. The result is a high capacity per electrode weight to deliver longer-lasting battery.”
