Lithium ion batteries are at the energetic heart of almost
all things tech, from cell phones to tablets to electric vehicles. That’s
because they are a proven technology, light, long-lasting and powerful. But
they aren’t perfect.
“You might get seven or eight hours out of your iPhone on
one charge, maybe a day,” says Reza Shahbazian-Yassar, an associate professor
of mechanical engineering at Michigan Technological University. “This is not
enough for many of us. A fully electric car, like the Nissan Leaf, can go up to
100 miles on a single charge. To appeal to a mass market, it should be about
300 miles. We want to increase the power of these systems.”