New battery type with more capacity coming soon in consumer electronics

The production of solid-state batteries, a type of battery that can store more energy than conventional batteries, is quickly becoming cheaper. That says manufacturer Applied Materials. The first solid-state battery for consumer electronics is coming, presumably in a smartwatch.

Applied Materials, which supplies the equipment to make solid-state batteries, won’t say which of their customers will be applying the battery technology and on what type of product, writes MIT Technology Review. Integrating solid-state batteries into consumer electronics has been too expensive until now, but production is rapidly becoming cheaper with new equipment, Applied Materials says.

The solid-state batteries should eventually appear in wearables, smartphones and electric cars. In addition to the ability to store larger amounts of energy and thus provide a device with power for longer than current batteries, the advantage is that the battery does not work with a liquid electrolyte: it is highly flammable.

Solid-state batteries work instead of liquid electrolyte with a solid structure that allows mobility of ions. As a result, the electrodes can be made of lithium metal. They can hold more energy.

Applied Materials is not yet letting go of when the first solid-state batteries will appear in consumer electronics.