Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries were first commercially used in hand-held camcorders in 1991. Laptops soon followed. A decade later, batteries enabled the rise of tech titans such as Apple Inc. by powering smartphones and wearable devices, then made their way into electric vehicles. The basic technology throughout remained pretty much the same: Lithium ions move through a liquid from the cathode to the anode, and back again.
This, however, was just the beginning. After a decade of rapidly falling costs, the battery has reached a tipping point. No longer just for consumer products, it is poised to transform the way the world uses power.
In the energy sector, affordable batteries are making it possible for companies to store electricity and harvest renewable power. In the auto industry, they are set to challenge the gas-powered engine’s centurylong domination. Costs have come down so far and so fast that most car makers expect that electric vehicles, which are currently more expensive than their gas-powered counterparts, will cost the same amount to build within the next five years.
The gains are likely to continue. Electric […]
Meanwhile, the price of gas for our older cars is skyrocketing here in Pa. I have to pay $250 or more for gas even though we have a lot of extra gas according to what I have read. It is absurd especially for us older folks who are trying to keep our old cars on the road because we cannot afford a new car, even a used one.
P.S.: In addition, infinite growth on a finite planet is unsustainable.
Excellent news! Let’s bring down insurance rates through AI-Enabled Anti-Collision Software next. Glad to see tech in ecological-based direction!
I am still very concerned about the environmental damages of this rapidly advancing technology. At this late date we should not allow extraction without comprehensive controls and manufacture without complete recycling/reuse of the end products. Maximizing recycling would of course decrease the need for extraction. Tax the hell out of virgin materials to drive recycling otherwise we create more environmental degradation in service to a “better tech fix”.