There are a lot of variables that need to be balanced..
high energy density (both mass and volume), decent lifetime (charge cycles, unused degredation), charge/discharge time, suitable voltage range, availablility of materials, non-toxicity, complexity (cost) of manufacture, unused discharge rate, etc, etc.
This also explains why we get so many breakthroughs- a breakthrough in one area alone is usually of no practical use. Where they are they tend to be of niche interest.
Batteries are largely only a major problem in the electronics industry; and the car industry as that goes electric. There are a lot of other ways to store energy which are used in heavy industry where portability isn't required- flywheels, supercapacitors, even HEP stations are used as energy stores by the power grid.
Don't forget that the battery has to more or less operate and survive in a temperature range of 50 below zero to 180 degrees. If not, operating it on a cold day in northern Maine, or leaving it in the sun in southern Florida will break it. All this and above, and you need to be able to BEAT current low priced battery options like car batteries, which perform sufficiently well.
Comments
There are a lot of variables that need to be balanced.. high energy density (both mass and volume), decent lifetime (charge cycles, unused degredation), charge/discharge time, suitable voltage range, availablility of materials, non-toxicity, complexity (cost) of manufacture, unused discharge rate, etc, etc.
This also explains why we get so many breakthroughs- a breakthrough in one area alone is usually of no practical use. Where they are they tend to be of niche interest.
Batteries are largely only a major problem in the electronics industry; and the car industry as that goes electric. There are a lot of other ways to store energy which are used in heavy industry where portability isn't required- flywheels, supercapacitors, even HEP stations are used as energy stores by the power grid.
Thanks for the response. It's funny how we do seem to see these breakthroughs all the time, but rarely actually see marked improvements.
Don't forget that the battery has to more or less operate and survive in a temperature range of 50 below zero to 180 degrees. If not, operating it on a cold day in northern Maine, or leaving it in the sun in southern Florida will break it. All this and above, and you need to be able to BEAT current low priced battery options like car batteries, which perform sufficiently well.