Until now, lithium-ion batteries have stored and released energy slowly. But scientists have found a way to dramatically speed the process up. This means a cell phone could be recharged in ten seconds or a plug-in hybrid in five minutes. This is a game-changer and should be on the market in two to three years.
The invention, which was supported by US government funds, has already been licensed by two companies, MIT said.
This is a clear example of why government R&D money is so crucial. The current bailout bills include $150 billion for cleantech R&D. Imagine the amazing breakthroughs that will come because of that investment. Huge technological advances are being made now in all areas of cleantech; offshore wind turbines, deep geothermal, flexible solar panels, a smart grid, and lots more. We are, amidst the collapse of a dysfunctional financial world, witnessing the emergence of huge amounts of commercially available clean energy and transportation.
My real question is: How long has this been available, but they were sitting on it, waiting for someone to be in charge that wasn’t in big oil’s pocket? The odds of this happening JUST after a big push to go for electric cars and such is just too quick. The funding for such things hasn’t even been put into a bill, yet alone made law and contracts awarded and… I’m betting this was “discovered” some time ago, and then sat on until the timing was right to push it out there.
But then I listen to The Grassy Knoll podcast too, so… 😉