Electrical Storage Batteries —An Improving Product

Electrical batteries, attributed to Alessandro Volta, have been around since 1800  (although Benjamin Franklin apparently applied the term to a pile of charged glass plates before then). When I first became aware of them as a kid, it was mostly in the form of flashlight batteries (then carbon-zinc), and automobile batteries (lead –acid).  It is a testimony to their advantages that they are still being used in pretty much the same  form, although we are becoming a bit more careful about throwing them away.  There was a shelf in my grandfather’s shop, which contained a few automobile batteries in various stages of health, some distilled water, a battery hydrometer, some baking soda for cleaning, and a charger.  There is a very similar shelf in the modern farm to which I escape, except the hydrometer has been replaced by electronic testing equipment and the charger has become “smart”.   But being in California, the dead batteries no longer not end up in land fills (although one still sees occasional piles of them, hopefully waiting to be re-cycled).

 It was not until my Jet Propulsion Days in the late 1950’s and 1960’s that I was first exposed to other types of batteries.  The Ranger and Mariner spacecraft were powered by solar panels and rechargeable sealed silver-zinc batteries (spacecraft definitely like sealed batteries).  But I remember one time when my group was developing a Mars hard lander capable of handling a 10,000 g impact from a speed of 500 miles per hour (the payload was shrouded in crushable material – the program was later cancelled).  I tried to find a battery capable of handling that level of shock, and failed.  But even more interesting, I found that only a few battery companies existed, and there were few, if any, university programs or research efforts in advanced battery technology. 

 But now we seem to have gotten the message, not only because of the demand for small rechargeable batteries for our electronic devices, but also because we are finally  understanding the advantages of electric cars and alternate forms of energy which require the storage of electricity.  JPL, like Tesla, is using lithium ion batteries, and there is a large amount of work going on in both universities and industry in new approaches to batteries, both primary (single use), and secondary (re-chargeable.).  An interesting comparison of energy storage is here, and more details on an early Tesla battery here.

 It is about time that we get more serious about electrical storage.  Assuming that electrical generation continues to become cleaner, we will continue to change from petroleum-powered devices to electrical and we will need improved ability to store electricity not only in these devices, but also for “alternate” energy generation approaches.  Although new technologies are sometimes more challenging (note Boeing 787 and Sony past lithium ion battery problems), times are changing. I certainly am now hooked on battery-powered tools, which would be much less fun if powered by lead-acid or primary batteries. I am looking forward to breakthroughs that are bound to come from present research.  Biological batteries?