advert_thinergy2Everyone of us use many electronic devices today that have batteries to power itself independently so that it does not always need to get attached to the wall socket. Most common of them is perhaps our mobile phones and laptops and every one of us has had some biter experiences with them. They leave a lot to be desired. They all use a decade old technology that comprises of Lithium.

In this scenario, Infinite Power Solutions’ THINERGY ™ Micro-Energy Cell (MEC ®) is a revolutionary product that outperforms all other thin film batteries. It has won the FLEXI award in the most innovative product development category. The FlexTech Alliance holds the FLEXI awards to accomplish significant R&D, innovative product development and leadership in education within flexible printed electronics and displays.
The cells are thin like paper and are flexible. They have unrivaled rechargeability and can withstand temperatures from -40 degres Centigrade to +85 degrees centigrade.  Here are some of its other awesome capabilities.

Cycle Life

Basically, the cycle life of a battery indicates the longevity of the battery. A cycle means one charge and one discharge of the battery. The common rechargeable batteries like Li Ion, Li Polymer or NiMH cells rarely achieve 1,000 cycle with 80 percent capacity retention. Typically these cells last about 3 years with one charge and discharge everyday. The THINERGY cells are expected to last more than 15,000 cycles. This means these cells would last the lifetime of the system in which it is used.

Depth of Discharge

Energy is stored in the cells when they are charged. When discharging them, every bit of energy stored in the battery cannot be juiced out due to some reasons. The common Li Ion, Li Polymer, NiMH batteries are cycled to only 80 percent Depth of Discharge. IPS reported that they have demonstrated industry leading deep discharge cycle capability with its high capacity MECs. They tested 0.7 mAh 1 square inch rechargeable cells to 100 percent depth of discharge at 25 degrees centigrade for greater than 15,000 cycles rate at 9C rate. 90 percent of their starting capacity were maintained at the capacity defining ½ C rate.

In this connection, Dr. Bernd Neudecker, IPS’ chief technology officer stated that

These outstanding current density and cycle life measurements demonstrate the enormous performance benefits that can be achieved with our unique battery architecture, solid-state electrolyte and proprietary manufacturing process. Our MEC products are clearly the world’s most powerful batteries for their size, and thanks to their incredible cycle life, will deliver tens of ampere hours over their lifetime. These ‘batteries for life’ enable permanent integration into current and future electronic products.

Current Density and Capacity Rate

IPS allegedly demonstrated a continuous discharge current measurement of 170 mA at 25 degrees Centigrade from a single MEC. The MEC was approximately 1 square inch in size and thin like a paper. We can calculate a current density of 45 mA per square centimeter from this figures. The starting discharge capacity was only 0.7 mAh which indicates a capacity rate of 240 (C Rate) with this high current. Comparatively, a typical Li Ion cell gives a current density of 10 mA per square centimeter and delivers less than 2C rate. This high capacity rate coupled with high current density may be useful for certain appliances which may need spikes of high current to work.
Tim Bradow, IPS’ vice president of technical marketing and business development, notes,

Our THINERGY MECs are high-performance energy storage devices that can replace supercapacitors where minimum volume and maximum energy density is critical, and significant discharge current, beyond that available from coin cells and all other thin batteries, is required. When combined with circuits that harvest ambient energy from sources such as solar, force, vibration, thermal and radio frequency (RF), MECs can be perpetually recharged to power Wireless sensors and other micro-electronic devices—providing a safe, reusable and clean energy source that last the lifetime of a system with no maintenance or replacement cost.

Leakage Currents

After a common cell is charged, it automatically discharges itself over time, even if it is not put to use with some appliance. A zero leakage current should be ideal but a common cell discharges it self if put idle for a few months. The MECs can store charge for more than 20 years.

Conclusion

The future of the energy industry seems to be bright and there is some real R&D going on to make new generation fuel cells and batteries. The Bloom Box Energy and these Thinergy batteries are just some of them. It seems that the (almost) perpetual machines are not very far away.