Batteries Going Green

For years, battery manufacturers have been developing ways to make their products more environmentally friendly.

Companies look for alternatives to the harmful substances used today. However, that strategy will take decades to commercialize; producing batteries that are stronger and more efficient seems the best option.

Presently, researchers are exploring “bio-batteries”, using substances made from living organisms to power objects.

In 2007, Sony developed a “bio battery” that generates electricity from sugar. This discovery uses carbohydrates and enzymes to generate power and has a maximum output of 50 milliwatts,giving it the capability to power a walkman. This has set path in turning to abundant living organisms to reduce toxic waste produced by batteries. (Sugar fuelled battery..,2007)

A recent development by a research team in Aarhus University in Denmark creates a bacteria colony that reacts with mud and seawater to generate electricity. The bacteria colony works by having contact on top with oxygen while the bottom contacts the organic material. Because both layers are somehow connected in the process, the bottom layer that produces electrons are transported to the top layers therefore reacting with oxygen. Scientists are trying to harvest the nanowire network that these bacteria creates to potentially developing a living biogeobattery (Anupanm, 2010).

Meanwhile, scientists at the University of Leicester are looking for ways to replace harmful, carcinogenic, toxic acids and electrolytes currently and widely used in many commercial metal finishing and energy storage processes (University of Leicester, 2010). So far they have developed ionic liquid solvents that are non-toxic as an alternative to dangerous solutions. Karl Ryder, a senior lecturer at the University who oversees the project explains, “One of our aims is to improve the working environment for people within the manufacturing industry by replacing unpleasant acids or caustic processes with ionic liquids. The user experience is very similar for both and no additional equipment or training is required, but the user benefits from a more pleasant and safer working environment.” (University of Leicester, 2010). The team of researchers received a €1 million funding distributed between several major projects.

One project called POLYZION was to develop an eco-friendly and affordable rechargeable battery for electric vehicles. It is designed to be sustainable, having light-weight characteristics as opposed to existing batteries that use heavy, expensive materials that can be harmful to the environment (University of Leicester, 2010).

Additionally, MIT researches are developing ways to manufacture liquid metal batteries made using earth-abundant elements. A big issue scientists faced in an attempt to develop eco-friendly batteries is the high cost of the material. MIT attempts to tackle this problem by using substances that are plentiful. As a result, the research team developed a small battery made from antimony and magnesium in between an electrolyte. As for now, the battery is not beneficial to small devices, but researchers continue to develop the product to a larger scale (Anupam, 2010 March 19).

Moreover, leading battery producers such as Fuji created the EnviroMAX batteries last year that do not contain ingredients harmful to the environment such as cadmium and mercury. They are packaged with recycled paper and PET plastic which makes the products degradable where they can be disposed normally. This decreases the costs incurred from recycling batteries (Hanlon, 2009).

Hitachi Vehicle Energy Ltd. Created a new Lithium-ion battery designed for automobiles. This new product has more capacity up to 25 Ah that is about 5 times more than its predecessors. It produces energy of up to 120 Wh/kg and power density of 2,400 W/kg. It further provides heat-resistant features preventing internal short circuits and increasing safety (Madan, 2010).

The market today focuses on the emerging green market. Companies spend millions on the research and innovation sector to develop methods of increasing efficiency to reduce waste, or finding abundant alternatives to current methods. Many have succeeded, but may take time until the developments are released to the masses. Nevertheless, the decision remains in the hands of consumers to persistently push towards the eco-friendly movement.

http://www.bbmbattery.com/blog_batteriesgoinggreen.aspx