cool tech - Future batteries

[Aaron]

betavoltaics could be coming in 3-4 years (http://www.electronista.com/articles/07/10/02/betavoltaic.battery/)

[scareyourpassenger]

cool! I want a preproduction version!

[S2k Dude]

Something tells me this technology is still many years away.

[modifry]

Looks fishy to me too.

I did the math, and assuming my laptop lasts 4 hours on it's 53 watt-hour battery, they're talking about a battery with a capacity of ~3500 kilowatt-hours. This is enough power to operate a 200HP electric motor continuously for a day. If you put 50 of these batteries in a car it would run for 3 years without needing to be replaced or re-charged, assuming normal daily operation of 4 hours running time at an average of 50 HP output.

If this battery is real, only a COMPLETE MORON would consider putting it in a laptop, or even make it public. If you assume the "cost to build" a single one of these laptop batteries is $100 (reasonable if they are considering laptop use), that would make the cost of the electricity it produces less than 3¢ per kilowatt-hour, more than 3 times cheaper than electricity sells for today. Build a sh!t-load of them, put them in a big building, and sell electricity. Within a year you'd be able to hire Bill Gates to shine your shoes.

[xb1]

Somehow I think the scalability of the concept will be its ultimate limitation. I don't think it will quite have the same output if the silicon layers are too thick.

[Cyclon36]

Looks fishy to me too.

I did the math, and assuming my laptop lasts 4 hours on it's 53 watt-hour battery, they're talking about a battery with a capacity of ~3500 kilowatt-hours. This is enough power to operate a 200HP electric motor continuously for a day. If you put 50 of these batteries in a car it would run for 3 years without needing to be replaced or re-charged, assuming normal daily operation of 4 hours running time at an average of 50 HP output.

If this battery is real, only a COMPLETE MORON would consider putting it in a laptop, or even make it public. If you assume the "cost to build" a single one of these laptop batteries is $100 (reasonable if they are considering laptop use), that would make the cost of the electricity it produces less than 3¢ per kilowatt-hour, more than 3 times cheaper than electricity sells for today. Build a sh!t-load of them, put them in a big building, and sell electricity. Within a year you'd be able to hire Bill Gates to shine your shoes.


Considering the materials used, I doubt we can count on "reasonable" prices for these things. I'm sure they just picked the laptop as a standard unit of measurement. You know, like people compare things to how many times you can stretch it around the world or so. I'm sure they'll be a gazillion dollars a peice to begin with.