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ZPower's prototype silver-zinc notebook battery pack  (Source: DailyTech, Brandon Hill)

  (Source: DailyTech, Brandon Hill)
ZPower promises 30 percent greater power density than lithium-ion cells

When it comes to mobile devices, battery life is paramount. Whether it’s a mobile phone, laptop or MP3 player; long battery life is an oft-requested feature by consumers.

Most of today's battery-powered devices make use of lithium-ion batteries which come with their own set of problems. As witnessed by the massive recalls last year of Sony-manufactured batteries, lithium-ion batteries can sometimes present a safety hazard.

Auto giant Toyota even shunned lithium-ion batteries for its next generation Prius. The company again cited safety concerns with the decision to stick with nickel-metal hydride batteries. Having a notebook catch fire due to faulty batteries is one thing, but having a $23,000 Prius rolling down the street on fire presents its own set of safety and legal challenges.

ZPower is looking to supplant lithium-ion technology with a battery chemistry that is safer and has improved energy output. The company had its new batteries on display this week at the Intel Developer Forum.

The ZPower batteries have an energy density that is 30 percent higher than that of lithium-ion batteries. According to ZPower president and CEO Ross Dueber, the batteries can even be safely overcharged to allow for additional runtime.

ZPower batteries are composed of a composite polymer zinc anode, layered separator and a nano-particle silver cathode. Since the cells used in ZPower's batteries are water-based, they are as safe to use as traditional alkaline batteries.

The zinc and silver used in the batteries are also 95 percent recyclable. ZPower will have a program in place in which customers can recycle their used batteries and get reimbursed for the value of the silver and zinc recovered. Customers will receive a check or receive credit towards the purchase of new cells according to Dueber.

All is not well, however, with ZPower's batteries. Pre-production batteries are only good for about 100 cycles compared to around 300 cycles for lithium-ion batteries. ZPower hopes to increase this figure to 200 cycles by mid-2008 and to 300+ cycles by 2010.

Due to the difference in voltage and battery chemistry of silver-zinc batteries, they are not at their most efficient when used in existing lithium-ion based devices. In other words, ZPower's batteries would be best suited for newly designed notebooks, mobile phones, etc. which can better cope with silver-zinc battery characteristics.

There is also no pricing information available for ZPower’s batteries in relation to traditional lithium-ion counterparts. And then there’s the issue of market adoption of silver-zinc batteries. As of now, ZPower only has one major OEM onboard to use its battery technology in notebooks, but Dueber declined to name the company.

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Cost
By acer905 on 9/19/2007 7:20:10 AM , Rating: 2
I can really see this taking off... as long as its not so horridly expensive that you could purchase 2 lithium ion batteries for the same price...




RE: Cost
By Chudilo on 9/19/2007 10:04:56 AM , Rating: 2
The Laptop manufacturers would eat this up.
What can be better then selling a laptop that requires constant user replaceable batteries. It the sale that keeps ongiving!

This will be on the market faster then you think.


RE: Cost
By TomZ on 9/19/2007 10:16:40 AM , Rating: 2
Yes, I agree - I don't think that laptop manufacturers see short battery life as all bad - they earn high margins on accessory sales.


RE: Cost
By Gul Westfale on 9/19/2007 10:20:35 AM , Rating: 2
well let's hope it won't end up like the razor business, where a new razor is now cheaper than a pack of 4 blades... or printers. i recently bought a new canon printer and just found out at best buy that a new pack of colour+black ink is more expensive than simply buying the same printer again :)


RE: Cost
By xsilver on 9/19/2007 10:54:03 AM , Rating: 2
dont make the mistake of just buying a new printer again for the ink though.
The manufacturers apparently have special ink tanks for new printers that are not totally full.


RE: Cost
By Gul Westfale on 9/19/2007 11:13:08 AM , Rating: 3
yeah i figured out the stuff about the starter cartridges already... i barely printed a dozen photos and it says the ink is empty. this is retarded. i think we should all save the empty tanks and then pay a dump truck to dump them in front of canon's HQ.


RE: Cost
By Master Kenobi (blog) on 9/19/2007 10:57:03 AM , Rating: 2
Thats because on the inkjet lines they sell the printer for dirt and rape you on the ink costs. Most of them also switched to using "Starter" Cartridges too so you have to buy new ink right away.

My trump card, go with laser. Lasers rule.
2605dn Color Laser from HP (Network Ready)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...
399.00

You can however find it as low as 350 sometimes from Staples or Office Depot.


RE: Cost
By Moishe on 9/19/2007 11:26:21 AM , Rating: 2
Or if you don't need color/photos.... you can get a great B&W network printer for $100. The Brother 2070N is a good printer.

Laser toner carts produce a lot more print for a lot less...


RE: Cost
By TomZ on 9/19/2007 1:14:34 PM , Rating: 2
Don't color lasers also suffer from the same problem of having expensive consumables?


RE: Cost
By Oregonian2 on 9/19/2007 2:02:27 PM , Rating: 2
And not being able to be anywhere near "photographic", although the better color lasers can make okay-for-a-newsletter sort of color photographs. Laser printers are faster and cheaper-per-page, but color quality is less than that of inkjets.

And don't think laser printers aren't making their profit on the consumables too. They are.


RE: Cost
By fic2 on 9/19/2007 2:40:04 PM , Rating: 2
Last laser printer I bought was $50. I have bought two and have yet to run the toner down on either. Granted, I don't print that much, but friends have the same story. One friend finally had to buy a toner cartridge a week or so ago for his old HP 3. I think starter toner cartdridges are good for something like 3000 pages. For me that would be over 10 years worth.


RE: Cost
By rudy on 9/19/2007 5:11:40 PM , Rating: 2
Buy a cannon, or epson, I have a cannon and I can get generic ink for $1 maybe $2 after shipping. I don't know if a laser can even beat that.


RE: Cost
By Oregonian2 on 9/19/2007 2:09:48 PM , Rating: 2
EVERYTHING will depend upon cost/price. If they were the same price for a battery that lasts 30% longer per charge but can only be recharged a third as many times, I think I'd take the lithium. For the current technology IMO they'd need to sell theirs at least a third cheaper. I infer some posting clues that the price may actually be higher. Significantly higher. I think that's why it needs to be put into new designs rather than retrofitting current designs. One needs to be able to ONLY use their battery, else one wouldn't buy them.


Dueber declined to name the company..
By geeg on 9/19/2007 12:49:20 AM , Rating: 2
Can it be Sony?




By Lord 666 on 9/19/2007 1:24:52 AM , Rating: 2
My sarcasim meter might be malfunctioning at the moment, but more than likely it is Panasonic.


By Mudvillager on 9/19/2007 7:33:36 AM , Rating: 2
I'd say that's quite likely considering how fond they are of increasing battery life on their laptops (especially the ultraporatables).


Apple...
By vortmax on 9/19/2007 2:34:03 PM , Rating: 3
I vote that Apple uses this in the next iPhone...lol.




RE: Apple...
By Flunk on 9/20/2007 1:08:32 AM , Rating: 2
Sure, then the non-user serviceable battery will need to be replaced 3 times as often!


Almost there
By rdeegvainl on 9/19/2007 2:32:54 AM , Rating: 2
They get those recharge cycle numbers up like they hope, and I'll be all over this for my mobile devices.




Other Apps
By clovell on 9/19/2007 10:48:35 AM , Rating: 2
It'd be neat to see this technology advanced to a point where it could be considered for use in vehicles - like Ni-MH and Lithium ion batteries. Nice find!




Correct me if I'm wrong
By littlebitstrouds on 9/19/2007 11:53:49 AM , Rating: 2
I believe when they say it will last 100 charges... that's 100 charges at 100% charge held. Then it starts to degrade. The battery improves life 30% to start. That's 30% less charging anyway, so more like 133 charges before degradation. Now reduce the charge amount by what? 10% per 10 charges, and you're still getting equal or better battery life until about 160 Charges. Not to bad if you consider you're getting better battery life for the majority of the life of the battery and you just have to replace the battery after about 8months to a year. It's a young technology, it has some good promise.




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