HP to use safer faster charging batteries in new laptops

Most portable consumer electronics items have moved from using disposable batteries over to Lithium-Ion and Lithium-Polymer batteries over the past few years, but while these are lighter, longer lasting and more environmentally friendly than most disposable batteries, they have a bad reputation for their limited lifespan and consequences of overheating.  Boston Power has developed a new Lithium-Ion battery, which it claims will overcome these issues as well as provide high speed recharging.

To start with, the new battery can be recharged over 1,000 times, three to four times that of current batteries.  Most current batteries lose most of their capacity as they age, where as the Boston Power battery claims to retain its like-new capacity over much of its life.  Another problem with existing lithium based batteries is that if they are supplied a wrong voltage, it can take up to 20 minutes to detect this, by which time the battery may have overheated and burst into flames.  The new battery will detect a wrong voltage after 4 to 6 minutes and will just shut down if the temperature exceeds 60C to 70C.

Finally, the new battery is able to handle a much quicker charging rate, in which the batteries can be recharged to 80% capacity in just 30 minutes.  Most existing Lithium based batteries take at least 2 hours to recharge to 80% capacity.

HP will start using the Sonata battery in its new laptops next year, providing them as an option.  Exiting HP owners will also be able to order these to replace their existing laptop batteries.  Boston Power aims to make deals with other computer manufacturers in the coming months as well as develop these for other applications.

It would certainly be nice to have these batteries available for other consumer electronics, such as mobile phones and MP3 players where regular use and recharging also quickly reduces the life and capacity of the battery.  The quicker recharging is also useful, such as for the time when you’re about to head out to something special in half an hour and realise that you’ve forgot to recharge the digital camera.