Battery Research Could Lead to Shorter Recharge Time for Cell Phones

In collaboration with Vorbeck and researcher Ilhan Aksay at Princeton University, PNNL has demonstrated that small quantities of graphene — an ultra-thin sheet of carbon atoms — can dramatically improve the power and cycling stability of lithium-ion batteries, while maintaining high energy storage capacity. The pioneering work could lead to the development of batteries that store larger amounts of energy and recharge quickly.

Today, a typical cell phone battery takes between two and five hours to fully recharge. Researchers think using new battery materials with graphene could cut recharge time to less than 10 minutes.

Battelle, which operates PNNL for DOE, entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with Vorbeck for use of its unique graphene material, Vor-xTM, in battery materials synthesis research. Click here to read the announcement from Vorbeck.

This research is made possible the by the Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's Technology Commercialization Fund.

Vorbeck Materials Corp. (www.vorbeck.com) was established in 2006 to manufacture and develop applications using Vor-xTM, Vorbeck's patented graphene material developed at Princeton University. Vorbeck became the first company to successfully commercialize a graphene product in 2009 with the introduction of Vor-ink, a graphene-based conductive ink.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (www.pnl.gov) is a Department of Energy Office of Science national laboratory where interdisciplinary teams advance science and technology and deliver solutions to America's most intractable problems in energy, the environment and national security. PNNL employs 4,700 staff, has an annual budget of nearly $1.1 billion, and has been managed by Ohio-based Battelle since the lab's inception in 1965. Follow PNNL on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.