from Hacker News

Ask HN: Are Batteries Not Evolving?

by nunorbatista on 5/6/22, 4:18 PM with 9 comments

For years that I hear about new developments in batteries but the feeling I got is that everything is pretty much the same: bigger batteries and more efficient CPUs/systems/hardware are making the difference, not the battery itself.

If I do a quick search, I find articles making reference to technologies like graphene, next-generation lithium or charges in 5 minutes, but I just don’t see real applications of all of these. Am I missing something?

  • by shaunrussell on 5/6/22, 6:20 PM

    Did you watch Tesla Battery Day? They have numerous innovations.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6T9xIeZTds

  • by Maursault on 5/9/22, 4:10 AM

    Where have you been? Lithium ion battery capacities have steadily increased every year over the last decade. And NiMH cells have really gotten really good, especially the ones coming out of FDK Corporation in Japan. Batteries are definitely evolving. But focus has been on 18650 cells, Tesla pushed capacities forward and has since adopted a new format, 4680 or 46800, so now expect capacity advances for those sized cells.

  • by DamonHD on 5/6/22, 4:27 PM

    Fairly substantial improvements and new technologies are coming to the market regularly, and costs are coming down fast.

    So no, it's not just efficiency elsewhere making all the running.