Apple And US Government Are Working On Making Better Mobile Batteries

The problem with the lithium-ion batteries found in our smartphones is that they tend to lose the number of charges they hold over time, which mean that a phone that says 100% when brand new will last a lot longer than one that’s say two years old. However, Apple could be working to fix that.

According to a patent discovered by Patently Apple, it appears that Apple is working together with the US government on a possible battery invention that will introduce new coating materials for batteries. The patent describes how at the moment, lithium-ion batteries typically use an aluminum oxide or aluminum fluoride to coat the cathode particles. However, coatings like aluminum oxide tend to lead to energy density loss.

The patent then suggests that these cathode coatings could instead be replaced by lithium-ion oxide containing lanthanum and titanium, or lithium-ion oxide containing lanthanum and germanium. This is said to potentially help increase average voltage and improve on energy retention.

That being said, it is unclear whether or not we will actually see this patent become a reality, but it is interesting to see that the patent was developed with the US government’s support, although we’re not too sure what the implications could be for such backing.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Apple, Cellphones
Tags: iPhone, Patent