New electrode technology from battery technology company Amprius promises to improve battery run times by more than 40%. By replacing conventional carbon anodes with the new nanowire silicon material, the new silicon electrode batteries are able to store much more energy, resulting in a beefier and more powerful battery in the same sized package.
It’s early days yet of course (isn’t it always?) but the company hopes to have products on the market within two years, probably initially powering electric vehicles.
Prototype batteries have been tested through 250 charging cycles and have been shown to store twice the energy of a conventional battery. To be a serious contender for use in electric vehicles, however, the batteries will need to go through 3,000 charging cycles, says Ryan Kottenstette, the company’s director of business development.