New Aluminum Battery Charges Smartphones in Less Than a Minute

Smartphone owners know that it can take hours to charge a conventional lithium-ion battery. To address that problem, chemistry Professor Hongjie Dai and colleagues invented a flexible aluminum battery that can charge a phone in less than a minute. Researchers say the new technology offers a safe, inexpensive alternative to the lithium-ion batteries widely used today. Funding for the research was provided by the Global Climate and Energy Project and the Precourt Institute for Energy.