Forty years is a long time. A lot can change in four decades. If a person from the 70s, time travelled to today, he would be a very confused person. The world has changed in such profound ways and we seldom stop to even think about it.

To just give you a sense of how far we’ve come in the last forty years, let me remind you that, the internet was invented and became mainstream, 3D printing is now possible, the International Space Station was built and now we have a permanent human presence in space.

Also, computing power has come a long way since, with the personal computer being a common sight. Smartphones and tablets that could only be seen in sci-fi movies are now in the hands of every Tom, Dick and Harry.

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But, there are always some things that don’t want to change. What I’m pointing to is battery tech. Technologically speaking, the batteries that are used today in the consumer electronics space, have remained largely unchanged. This is why there is always a feeling of “something missing” among users, even with all our advances in other areas.

We can do all sorts of cool stuff with our hand held gadgets, from taking awesome photos to listening to music to being able to access any information and communicating with our loved ones from anywhere on the planet, but somehow, we are very limited in how long we can do these things.

Today, we rely on lithium-ion batteries to do the job for us. This technology was invented in the late 1970s and has been in use ever since. This tech has served its purpose well till now, but it no longer seems to provide the performance that a modern human requires in day to day life. 

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At the end of the day, we often find ourselves fumbling for chargers to recharge our phones, tablets, laptops, wearables and what not. This is not acceptable anymore because the number of devices keep increasing and charging and keeping track of all their charges is becoming more of a nuisance.

So, naturally, any sane person would ask, “So, what are we doing about it?” I am glad you asked because we are on the verge of a power revolution. It has been a long time coming. There are several new technologies being developed and I would like to list some of the best ones.

1. Solid State Batteries

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One of the biggest problems with today’s batteries is that they are highly flammable. We all witnessed this with the recent Note 7 fiasco. This happens because most conventional lithium-ion batteries use what is called an electrolyte which is also called ionic liquids.

It is this electrolyte that makes a battery very flammable. So, researchers have come up with a solution by making the electrolyte solid state. Instead  of liquid electrolyte, these solid state batteries use a mixture of metals to do the same job, making the battery much safer.

But that’s not the only thing solid batteries are good at. Theoretically, solid state batteries should be able to operate at super capacitor levels, giving them the ability to charge or discharge in just around 7 minutes. Apart from electronics, this is really ideal for electric cars.

Also, solid state batteries can be much smaller and lighter than current batteries making them ideal for all sorts of electronics especially wearables and internet of things (IoTs). 

The only problem this tech is facing right now is mass production at a lower price which should be worked out soon as several corporations and research institutions are working on it.

2. Lithium-Air

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This tech is not quite ready for the mass market just yet but it is such a huge step forward that it is worth mentioning. It is heralded as the ‘holy grail’ of battery technology and will change the entire landscape of energy storage.

Lithium-Air batteries use oxygen as the oxidiser instead of a material. This helps in drastically increasing the storage density of the battery. Also, this helps make the battery much lighter (one-fifth of Li-ion batteries) and much cheaper to manufacture (one-fifth the price).

Theoretically, they should last five times longer than current batteries. Also, they can rival gasoline in energy density which has never been done before in terms of battery technology.

This tech is so promising that IBM started working on it in 2009. The latest estimates suggest that it will be available in 5-10 years for the masses. But when it does, it has the potential to change the entire landscape.

3. Graphene Ultracapacitors

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What is better than a battery? The answer, however unintuitive is, no batter at all! That is correct. We might be able to rid ourselves of batteries for good, if graphene based supercapacitors become a reality.

To give a little context, let me explain what graphene and supercapacitors are. Graphene is a wonder material that is stronger than steel, harder than diamond, incredibly flexible and highly conductive of electricity. These attributes make graphene a truly versatile material with a large number of applications.

Capacitors are charged plates, separated by a resistor which store energy in an electric field rather than in a chemical reaction. This makes them last hundreds of thousands of charge cycles compared to only a thousand that batteries manage.

Conventionally capacitors haven’t fared well against batteries but graphene based ultracapacitors overcome most of the challenges and make for a viable solution to our energy storage woes.

Existing prototype of graphene ultracapacitors have managed over 10,000 charge cycles while maintaining the same or better energy density than lithium ion batteries (this will improve a lot in the future).

Elon Musk led Tesla is allegedly working on this tech and is believed to improve the tech further so that the capacitors can charge within seconds so that it’s electric cars could last 500 miles on a single charge!