Huawei’s Central Research Institute has developed lithium-ion batteries that it claims can be charged 10 times as fast as currently available batteries.
In one video demonstrating the technology (below), a smartphone battery is charged to 68% in two minutes, while a smartphone charged with a standard charger only gets 2% of battery life. There’s a an important caveat to that test, though: The battery used has a capacity of 600 milliamp-hours (mAh), which is a lot lower than batteries you’ll find in today’s smartphones.
The other demonstration (below) is far more interesting, as it shows a 3000mAh battery charged with Huawei’s new technology. In a mere five minutes, the battery jumps from zero to 48%. Huawei did not set up a second device for comparison, but we doubt you’ll get half of that in five minutes on any other phone.
For comparison, Samsung claims you can get four hours worth of battery life in 10 minutes with its fast-charging technology, built into the Galaxy S6; Droid-Life’s testing showed only a 9% increase (from 5% to 14%) in five minutes.
Huawei says it “bonded heteroatoms to the molecule of graphite in anode, which could be a catalyst for the capture and transmission of lithium through carbon bonds.”
While ultra-fast battery charging would definitely improve our mobile lives, it can have a detrimental effect on battery lifespan, and it can also generate a lot of heat. Huawei says its technology does not decrease energy density or battery lifespan, though it doesn’t mention how it deals with the heat issue.
According to the company, the batteries underwent “many rounds of testing, and have been certified by Huawei’s terminal test department.” There’s no word on when we might actually see these batteries (or smartphones containing them) on the market.
