Battery making startup Boston Power is more than tripling production of its Sonata laptop battery, a device that offers faster charging and longer life than conventional lithium-ion batteries. The Sonata battery was a hit when it was unveiled at the Demo 2007 conference in January 2007 because, according to Boston-Power, it gets over some of the main frustrations laptop users have with their battery packs. Namely it can be charged to 80 percent of total capacity in 30 minutes so even on a short lay-over a meaningful amount of power can be recharged into the battery and it should also last the average three years that people keep their laptops without a noticeable degradation in performance. Independent testing has shown that the Sonata batteries minimize metal pollution by fulfilling the criteria for long life, high capacity, and smallest amounts of detrimental heavy metals (practically zero levels allowed).
In light of a series of high-profile problems and recalls of lithium-ion batteries, Boston-Power is also pushing safety. It says its Sonata battery uses less reactive chemicals and has a series of protective controls that make it safer than competing batteries. Boston-Power says that it uses a new housing for its battery that is made from a metal alloy, rather than iron and will remain intact in the event of a short circuit. Boston-Power also builds a unique interrupt system into its batteries to shut them down permanently in the case of an impending thermal reaction. So folks forget being forced yet again into buying a new notebook battery. Not only does Sonata last you the lifespan of your notebook (on average 3 years), but it also offers you the same, unwavering capacity of a new battery that entire time. This means you can work and play; you can enjoy the hassle-free dependability of that ‘new battery’ feeling every day you use your notebook.
Via: NextEnergyNews
