Printable Thin Batteries To Be Available In 2010
11 August 2009 | Green Technology | No Comments
Could anyone have imagined that the world come from using big, bulky alkaline batteries to only paper-thin ones ? Well, that is just what researches, from the Fraunhofer Research Institution for Electronic Nano Systems (ENAS), led by Prof. Dr. Reinhard Baumann and with the help from TU Chemnitz and Menippos GmbH, promise.
They developed a battery, that is less than 1 mm thin and weighting no more then 0,75 grams. It has zinc / manganese system, thus completely mercury-free, making it environmentally-friendly. The two chemical elements, the zinc anode and a manganese cathode react with one another to produce electrical energy. The low amounts of the chemicals amount to a lifetime of about 170 hours (7 days), making them practical on products with short life expectancy.
The new thin battery could have a wide variety of appliances. From greeting cards and intelligent chips to medical patches, the battery could also be used in combination with other electronic devices, such as flexible low-end displays. One of the planned applications is the future smart credit card,which, equipped with a display, powered by thin battery, can give such information as the current balance or the latest money drowns.
The reason why the new batteries are so thin and flexible is because they are printed using a “rubber lip” silk screening method, in the same way, for example, t-shirts designs and signs are created. The new printable Zn-MnO2 battery will have a voltage of 1.5 V each, but, if used in a serial combination the number could raise from 3.0, 4.5 to 6.0. The capacity has a value of 2 mAh/cm².
The first test printable thin batteries will arrive later this year and, if all works well, the mass production is expected to start sometime in 2010. The aim is to keep the price under 10 cent.
Tags: electrical energy, enviromentally-friendly, flexible, Fraunhofer, maganese, mercury-free, printable, thin battery, zinc