It’s not terribly often you hear somebody say they’re perfectly satisfied with their gadget’s battery life. Smartphones, wearables, computers, portable game systems and tons of other gizmos could all benefit from a boost in the battery department. It is true that some devices, like the Motorola Droid Maxx 2, may have fairly satisfactory battery life for their purpose, but there’s a large number of smartphone owners who pine for the days of two-week battery life, but without the monochrome screens and non-existent cameras. Tech research firm IDTechX claims to have the solutions.
IDTechX, giving credit to their very own Dr. Xiaoxi He, has published a 212-page report on the state of the art in battery tech, outlining a brand new discovery that would supposedly allow the creation of a flexible, thin and printable battery with the density to match bulkier lithium-based solutions in use today. Their proposed magic touch is only available to those who subscribe or throw down the hard cash for the research paper, but the abstract and press release both glance over some interesting points such as the state of the industry, possible applications for the new tech and problems it could solve.
IDTechX makes a bold claim in the report, stating that the evolving market of thin and flexible batteries is on such an upswing that it will hit or surpass $460 million within a decade. That bold claim, if the tech evolves on track, is not that much of a stretch, given all the possible applications and implications of advancements in flexible battery technology. Think about it for a minute; what devices could be designed differently, better, if they could have super thin batteries in any shape to conform to the object’s design? Wearables are named prominently, but that’s just one example. The gaming space could put batteries on the backs of LCDs, taking advantage of gaming handhelds’ giant screens. The music industry could send somebody up on stage with a slim, contoured wireless microphone with a flexible battery inside. Smartphones could be even thinner than they already are, with more adventurous designs and much longer battery life, perhaps rivaling the two-week lifespan of the cell phone batteries of old.