Battery breakthrough offers a 70 percent charge in two minutes

Scientists in Singapore leading the charge charge

Scientists from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore have developed a battery technology that can provide a 70 percent charge in two minutes.

A report on the Science Daily website said that the new batteries charge quickly, and have an estimated length of service of 20 years.

The batteries were designed by associate professor Chen Xiaodong from the School of Materials Science and Engineering at NTU Singapore. The technology does away with the additives that lithium-ion batteries use to bind electrodes, which can slow down charges.

Chen said that the new approach is relatively simple and should be an easy option for manufacturers.

"Manufacturing this new nanotube gel is very easy. Titanium dioxide and sodium hydroxide are mixed together and stirred under a certain temperature," he said.

"Battery manufacturers will find it easy to integrate our new gel into their current production processes."

Chen told Science Daily that the batteries could find a place in modern electric cars, allowing them to keep refuelling pace with petrol equivalents.

"With our nanotechnology, electric cars would be able to increase their range dramatically with just five minutes of charging, which is on a par with the time needed to pump petrol for current cars," he said.

"Equally important, we can now drastically cut down the waste generated by disposed batteries, since our batteries last 10 times longer than the current generation of lithium-ion batteries."

An unnamed company has licensed the technology already, and Chen is expecting to see it in the real world within two years.

Earlier this year we reported on studies at Stanford University that managed to extend smartphone battery life by 300 percent.