In 1800, the Italian scientist Volta made the Volta stack by contacting different metals with electrolyte, which is considered to be the first power supply device in human history. Human beings have invented lead-acid battery, zinc manganese dioxide dry battery with NH4Cl as electrolyte, cadmium - nickel battery, iron - nickel storage, alkaline zinc - manganese battery and lithium ion battery.

As talk of Samsung's exploding Note7 continues to swirl, the battery, once the driving force behind the device, is back in the spotlight. Many people worry that we will be living with lithium-ion batteries that are nearing their limits for a long time. The answer, of course, is no. There are many new types of batteries waiting to break the ice. Let's take a look at new battery technologies.

1. The debut of domestic super battery

Recently, the ultimate power technology (Tianjin) Co., Ltd. demonstrated a kind of endurance and charging ability can be called a terrible super battery, full of power only 3-5 minutes.

As we can see from the picture, the battery is designed in a cylindrical shape, neatly arranged in a row. This design ensures that each battery has a gap in the middle to facilitate heat dissipation.

Wei Zhe, chairman of Ultra Power, said that this kind of super battery is important for buses and cranes that lift containers at docks. An electric bus needs 297 batteries.

He said that our kind of batteries are nickel-metal hydride batteries. Although they are not as thin and light as lithium-ion batteries in terms of size and weight, they are definitely much better than lithium-ion batteries in terms of safety and recharging ability.

It is understood that at the normal temperature of 20-40℃, a super battery charge only 3-5 minutes, the life of 5-8 years. When on a hybrid bus, the superbattery recovers energy every time the vehicle brakes, meaning it automatically recharges the battery. It is estimated that after using the super battery, the fuel saving rate of a hybrid bus can reach about 40%.

In addition, the battery is safer than the lithium-ion battery. The super battery has been subjected to a series of experiments, such as needling, squeezing, high temperature and falling, and will not explode as easily as the lithium-ion battery.

2. Here comes the Honda commercial magnesium battery

Honda Motor has teamed up with a team of researchers to develop the world's first practical magnesium rechargeable battery. Magnesium costs 96 percent less than lithium, and on top of that, it has a longer battery life. Japanese media reports say the new batteries could be a game-changing product, allowing smartphones and other devices to last longer on a single charge.

According to the report, is leading the research and development activities in saitama Japan industrial technology center (SaitamaIndustrialTechnologyCenter, Saitec), Honda r&d team in the light, to evaluate the feasibility of the battery. Developers expect magnesium batteries to initially be commercially available in smartphones and other portable devices. Magnesium battery developers hope to have products on sale by 2018. Honda and the Saitec team will present the battery at a scientific conference in Chiba, near Tokyo, Japan, next month.

Magnesium was reported, the researchers used in rechargeable battery encountered the same difficulties, in the process of discharge, discharge battery, charging performance of magnesium can rapid degradation, based on this, the researchers developed a new material vanadium oxide, put it on the positive, as a result, ion flow between vanadium oxide and magnesium anode will be a little easier. Vanadium oxide can increase the number of charges of magnesium, to prevent decay. To improve safety, the researchers added an organic substance that reduces the risk of magnesium batteries catching fire.

3. Lithium-sulfur batteries

Recently, Japan's Institute of Industrial Technology announced that it and the University of Tsukuba jointly developed a lithium-sulfur battery, through the use of a metal organic framework as a battery diaphragm, to achieve long-term stable charge-discharge cycle characteristics. The lithium-sulfur battery is said to maintain a charging capacity of up to 900mAh/g after 1,500 cycles of testing at a current density of 1C -- the current at which discharge ends after an hour of constant discharge.

Lithium sulfur batteries, which use sulfur as the positive electrode of lithium-ion batteries, have the characteristics of high positive electrode capacity (the theoretical value is 1675mAh/g), and are expected as a new generation of batteries. During the day, the photovoltaic panels on the solar-powered aircraft, which used lithium-sulfur batteries on its maiden flight in 2008, only provide flight capacity and charge its lithium-sulfur batteries to maintain the power needed for the night flight.

4. Solid state lithium ion battery

The important difference between solid-state lithium-ion batteries and ordinary lithium-ion batteries is that they replace the conventional organic electrolyte with a solid electrolyte. Traditional lithium-ion rechargeable batteries using organic electrolyte may cause electrolyte heating, spontaneous combustion or even explosion due to overcharging, internal short circuit and other abnormalities. Solid state lithium-ion batteries with solid electrolyte are not only safer but also better in terms of service life and energy density.

Since solid lithium-ion batteries do not contain liquid inside, they eliminate any liquid leakage problems. Compared with traditional lithium-ion batteries, their volume and weight are also lower, and their adaptability is stronger. These advantages are very conducive to the application of solid lithium-ion batteries in the field of energy storage and new energy vehicles. Research and industry are developing and producing solid-state lithium-ion batteries, which are regarded as the most promising new generation of battery products.

5, a new type of flow battery

Flow batteries are larger in scale than the rechargeable batteries commonly used because flow batteries differ in form and function from common lithium-ion batteries. In a fluid-flow cell, a liquid electrolyte circulates between two tanks that are separated by a membrane. When the ions pass through the membrane, charge transfer occurs, in a process similar to that used in hydrogen fuel-powered cells. Flow battery packs are safer than lithium-ion batteries and do not lose electricity even after a long period of time, making them ideal for storing renewable energy such as solar and wind power.

Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have developed a novel organic flow cell using low-cost and sustainable synthetic molecules that can be produced at a cost of about 60 percent less than the common all-vanadium flow cell, giving it a significant advantage in the field of energy storage.

Liquid metal batteries

Liquid metal batteries convert chemical energy into electrical energy through the REDOX reaction of liquid metal. The liquid metal is the characteristic of the battery. With the fluidity of the liquid, the liquid metal battery has the high charge-discharge performance and the magnification of the battery system, which also makes the liquid metal battery can meet the dual application of energy type and power type, and has a broad application prospect in large-scale energy storage.

A team of researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has developed a new, all-liquid metal battery system that is cheap and lasts longer. According to the team, the device could make renewable energy sources such as wind and solar competitive with conventional energy sources.

7, leaf green battery

A team of researchers at the University of Maryland has developed an inexpensive new material that could act as a negative electrode in a new generation of batteries. In experiments, the team found that when oak leaves are heated to 1,000 degrees Celsius, their carbon-based structures break down, leaving the material behind to contain electrolytes. The team is also testing other natural materials, including peat soil and banana peels.

8. Fast-charging graphene batteries

The lifespan of a battery is known to decrease with each additional charge and discharge, and researchers at Australia's Swinburne University of Technology are trying to solve this problem. They have come up with a new type of graphene battery that not only has super fast charging power (in a few seconds), but it is also so durable that the researchers have prescribed a lifetime of use. Graphene overcomes all the drawbacks of conventional batteries, but it is also environmentally friendly and cheap to build.

Batteries made of sugar

The Virginia Tech team has developed a battery made from sugar that has the advantage of being able to last a long time. The researchers isolated malt saccharin from sugar, which powers the new battery. When the malt saccharin comes into contact with air, the battery releases electrons to generate electricity. Because sugar is cheap and stored in large quantities, the new battery has a low cost and, most importantly, is biodegradable.

10. Nanowire batteries that can't be charged

The battery, which was discovered entirely by accident by researchers at the University of California, makes traditional lithium-ion batteries useless. The researchers made the nanowires out of gold and then combined them with the new material. The combination allows the battery to be charged and discharged more often without losing performance with each additional charge.

11. Self-destruct batteries

Self-destructing batteries are not intended for the mass market, but they could be useful in specific areas and overcome the environmental problems of previous single-use batteries. Developed at Iowa State University, the battery is important for military applications and can be detonated by light, heat or liquid. In addition, even if the detonation into the water, it will not cause pollution to the water.

12. Edible salt water batteries

This battery takes the concept of environmental protection so far that AquionEnergy's Whitacre actually ate a battery (not very tasty, I'm sure) in an effort to justify his own battery. The battery's components are all made of bio-derived materials that could be dust, cotton, carbon or salt water before they become batteries. But it's not for mobile devices. It's for bigger things, like being a backup power source for your home or business, powered by environmentally friendly wind or solar power.