Longer Battery Life Coming Soon
At last, portable batteries are beginning to evolve. Lack of adequate power is holding back portable computing. The M1, while designed for heavy-duty equipment, is a much needed sign of progress.
The M1, based on the same lithium-ion technology used in your cell phone and laptop, is the first product from MIT spinoff A123 Systems. Cofounder Yet-Ming Chiang, a materials science professor, succeeded in shrinking to nanoscale the particles that coat the battery’s electrodes and store and discharge energy. The results are electrifying: Power density doubles, peak energy jumps fivefold (the cells pack more punch than a standard 110-volt wall outlet), and recharging time plummets.