Phone battery set to lead revolution in electric cars: report

Mar 12, 2009 - Asia Pulse Data Source

Washington - Scientists have created a revolutionary mobile phone battery that can be charged in just 10 seconds, a development that could usher in a new era of electric cars, a news report has said.

The new device charges 100 times as fast as a conventional battery and could also be used in phones, laptops, iPods and digital cameras within just two or three years, said scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US.

It means electric cars owners would be free to drive long distances, withour worrying about running out of power as they could top up their battery in a few minutes at a service station.

The science journal Nature reported that the development has removed one of the main obstacles to green, clean motoring as the same technology could even allow an electric car to be charged up in the same time that it takes to fill a conventional car with petrol.

"Electric car batteries have a lot of energy so you can drive at 55mph for a long time, but the power is low. You can't accelerate quickly," said Dr Gerbrand Cedar, who devised the new battery.

"The ability to charge and discharge batteries in a matter of seconds rather than hours may open up new technological applications and induce lifestyle changes," Dr Ceder was quoted as saying by the Mail online.