Although the chip maker has been investing heavily in fuel cells as the next generation power source, it is hedging its bets with another alternative; Zinc Oxide Matrix.
Microchip manufacturer Intel has teamed up with a startup company called Zinc Matrix Power (ZMP) to develop rechargeable batteries based on Zinc Oxide, in the hopes of pushing th envelope on battery technology currently dominated by Lithium-Ion.
Conventional Lithium-Ion batteries can generate about 280 watt-hours per liter of material. ZMP claims to have prototype Zinc Oxide batteries in the lab that rate 600 watt-hours per liter, more than twice the capacity of Lithium-Ion for the same size battery, and ZMP and Intel plan to push that number even further. The company has also demoed prototypes that can run a Wi-Fi-enabled handheld for 200 8-hour duty cycles. If it makes it into mass production, such batteries could double or more the time between charge of handhelds and mobile phones, or let them run twice as hungry applications.
There is still work to be done, however. The chemical reaction that produces electricity in a Zinc Oxide battery also causes the chemicals to disperse, whereas to create more power the chemicals need to be separated. The process also naturally consumes the water involved in the reaction, a process that is very difficult to reverse. Both factors drastically reduce the battery's rechargeability, and improving the recharge cycles is the main focus of current research. So far the company has settled on using a special polymer to keep the chemicals in place away from each other using a specialized matrix, hence the name "Zinc Matrix Power".
ZMP expects production of Zinc Oxide batteries to begin in 2006, and have already made arrangements with a manufacturer. Their prediction is that demand will be sufficient to ship five to six million batteries in the first year alone.
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