CES is full of technological wizardry but behind all of the wireless TVs and self emptying robot vacuums one company is quietly changing the game for power storage. Thunderzee has unveiled zinc air batteries that will be safer, weigh less, hold more charge, cost less and be good to the environment.
Thunderzee's new self-developed batteries could have huge implications for a range of technology whether it's a smartphone, laptop or tablet. ThunderZee claims its new battery tech is ideal for a range of consumer applications, and it's not hard to see how cheaper, lighter batteries that are good for the planet and hold more charge could be useful across a wide spectrum of devices.
For now, the technology is a little large for most household gadgets, but it also seeing real world uses. Thunderzee is showcasing it's portable generator, the ZeeOne, which uses the technology as an energy storage solution.
"Generally, zinc-air batteries are designed for low-power discharge and small-scale appliances, such as hearing aids. It is not suitable for high power applications." said Thunderzee's founder and CEO Andy Lin in a canned press release. "Thunderzee's zinc-air fuel cell is a self-developed high-performance component that can simultaneously provide higher energy and power than traditional zinc-air fuel cells,"
Lin continues: "We have made a major breakthrough in electrochemistry of metal air batteries. We developed high power metal air fuel cell components: air cathode, ion membrane, and metal fuel formulation," Lin said, noting that fuel cells can be widely used in military and commercial applications."
If the tech works it's great news not just for our tech but for the planet. An advantage of zinc-air batteries is that they rely on zinc rather than the lithium of the lithium-ion batteries that are currently in most of your kit. The earth's supply of Zinc is some 100 times greater than that of Lithium per unit of battery energy.
