Heat is never good for a battery, so it’s always a big deal when a company discovers technology that will allow batteries to withstand more heat. That’s exactly what Huawei has announced, a technology that uses the supermaterial graphene in Li-ion batteries to raise its heat tolerance by several degrees.
Huawei’s new research shows that these new graphene-based heat-resistant Li-ion batteries remain functional in temperatures up to 60° Celsius. This limit is 10 degrees higher than the existing upper limit for Li-ion batteries. The graphene technology also increases the lifespan of the Li-ion batteries to around twice the normal lifespan, which is also a very good improvement.
Dr. Yangxing Li, Chief Scientist at Watt Laboratory, says “We have performed charging and discharging tests in a high-temperature environment. The tests show that when working parameters are the same, the graphene-assisted high-temperature Li-ion battery is 5°C cooler than ordinary Li-ion batteries. Over 70% of the graphene battery’s capacity is left after it is recharged 2,000 times at a temperature of 60°C. Less than 13% of its capacity is lost after being kept in a 60°C environment for 200 days.”
Expect this technology to be applied in a number of current technologies – particularly in communications base stations which are in high-temperature regions, where the graphene-assisted Li-ion batteries can have longer working lifespans. These batteries are also good for electric vehicles, especially when charging in high temperatures.
SOURCE: Huawei
