Physicists at the University of Missouri have developed a new honeycomb design that reduces energy dissipation in batteries. They have applied for a patent and have a functioning prototype. Also, this is apparently a real thing because they have set up a company to begin to commercialize the new battery technology. The team lead believes a 5-hour charge may end up being a 500-hour charge once they work the bugs out. I think we can all agree that battery technology really needs to improve to make renewables a viable energy source and this technology might get us there. The team has two papers out that explain their theories. Check out the abstracts for Paper 1 and Paper 2.



With the design, tiny honeycombs are covered with a magnetic alloy that allows for unidirectional current, or current that only flow in one direction, so much less energy is used up internally.

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Source: [H]ardOCP – Patent Sought for Honeycomb Design That Could Extend Battery Life