Project Ara module To Use SolidEnergy's Revolutionary Battery Technology In 2016

[qwertywarrior]

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/ara-solidenergy-revolutionary-battery-technology,28486.html

 

one of the main concerns for Ara was the small battery/s it would use

but according to this it looks like ara will have a lot of power in a small package

 

 

 

 

Module makers for Project Ara are already lining up to create third-party modules for the platform, and one of the more interesting ones is Solid Energy, which promises to make revolutionary batteries that have twice the capacity of current batteries.

SolidEnergy is an MIT startup with $4.5 million in funding, and it has 12 employees who have been working on this new technology for the past three years. The company has developed an ultra-thin metal anode that has twice the density of the graphite and silicon anodes commonly used in smartphone batteries.

The current lithium-ion battery technology that uses graphite anodes has been commercialized since 1991, when Sony first launched it on the market. A graphite anode is more limited in how much energy it can store, which is why SolidEnergy tried to solve the energy storage problem using an ultra-thin metal anode that can raise the energy density of the battery up to 1,200Whr per liter. A graphite anode can only hold less than 600Whr per liter. 

SolidEnergy's anode is made of a thin piece of lithium on copper that's less than a fifth the size of a graphite anode. The company provides the electrolyte as well, which is the substance being used to move a charge back and forth between the anode and cathode. It can work at room temperature, while other metal anodes have to work at a higher temperature.

SolidEnergy is going to target its battery technology at smartphones, because it seems you can never have too much battery life in a mobile device. Most smartphones barely last a day under moderate use. Because the company can just sell its own battery modules to consumers and because its batteries can store twice as much energy than the competitors, SolidEnergy has chosen to make batteries for Project Ara at first.

Project Ara only has room for so many modules, and the battery module isn't particularly large in size. That makes high storage capacity very compelling. SolidEnergy will begin commercializing its own batteries in 2016. Batteries targeted at electric vehicles will follow in 2017.

“Our battery basically makes the Project Ara phone more practical," said SolidEnergy founder and CEO Dr. Qichao Hu in an interview. "Right now, one of the major challenges with this phone is that the battery life is too short."

 

 

[SpaceCore]

more project ara news you say?

 

[XTankSlayerX]

HYPE.

 

I think I know what im getting...

 

EDIT: 2 Year contracts FTW!!

[HaZardousLP]

I find the best part of this is that you could either carry around say an extra 1x1 battery to give you an extra few hours in a pinch or you could fill up the back with enough batteries to last a few days. Can't wait for this.

[cesrai]

This would be awesome, I would carry around 1 or 2 extra battery and just swap.

[shujin]

I find the best part of this is that you could either carry around say an extra 1x1 battery to give you an extra few hours in a pinch or you could fill up the back with enough batteries to last a few days. Can't wait for this.

if only I could put battery on the front to

[The Benjamins]

if only I could put battery on the front to

but what if you can attach to chassis together with a bridge module, and have the on filled with batteries. so have a screen on the front and back with 4+ batteries and 2 processor modules.

 

it depends on how the chassis manages the modules and if the controllers can talk to each other.

[dizmo]

Still don't like it.

The battery, honestly, doesn't look that much smaller the other to. It is, granted, smaller, but not to the size I'd have expected.

What's the point of having a modular phone that can have all these awesome modules, if I can only add one at a time because of horrible battery life?

And no, I do not consider carrying around additional battery modules as an acceptable compromise. You could easily say that about any phone and a battery pack then.

 

I am pretty interested in seeing this used in mainstream phones though. Hopefully some flagships decide to pick it up as well.

There are other advancements that would make a much larger impact on battery life that I wish they'd implement.

[NateGSR117]

Like to see this battery tech come to more devices than just project area, but jell yea more project ara news!

[shujin]

but what if you can attach to chassis together with a bridge module, and have the on filled with batteries. so have a screen on the front and back with 4+ batteries and 2 processor modules.

 

it depends on how the chassis manages the modules and if the controllers can talk to each other.

if I can put 4 chassis WITH A LOT OF BATTERY

[The Benjamins]

if I can put 4 chassis WITH A LOT OF BATTERY

why not make a super smartphone, use like 64 chassis to make the MOST POWERFUL PHONE IN THE WORLD.

[shujin]

why not make a super smartphone, use like 64 chassis to make the MOST POWERFUL PHONE IN THE WORLD.

useless I prefer piece of crap that last forever