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Comment by AstixAndBelix | Hacker News Reader

Battery tech is clearly a gargantuan problem.

The amount of industry that desperately wants better density is stunning and the fact that despite the billions spent we are still stuck with basically the same tech is a testament to its stubborness

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There has been steady progress over the last couple of decades in battery tech. Much of it has gone into better Lithium-based batteries. We haven’t exactly stuck with the same tech.

“Eternally five years away? No, batteries are improving under your nose” https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/05/eternally-five-years...

I think we've had, what? 3 major battery techs in 150 years? The first one, then lead acid, now lithium ion.

It's a hard problem.

50% extra energy density with the same performance characteristics as lithium ion otherwise would probably level us up as a civilization.

Lithium-ion is 50% better than it used to be (in terms of energy/mass, it's done better than that for energy/volume).

A problem is that lithium is more or less the best choice for materials, and we've been pouring resources into developing it.

Don’t forget the frog battery https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frog_battery

And quite a lot of others: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_battery_types

Adding clauses: mainstream rechargeable battery techs.

It's bizarre how people refuse to accept that hydrogen fuel cells are technically batteries and have absurdly high energy densities. And if pressed, you usually hear some excuse like poor efficiencies, as if that isn't a powerful justification for pouring billions of dollars into the problem.

The problem is that “charging” that hydrogen battery uses enormous amounts of energy and produces large amounts of CO2. Until you can find a way to get hydrogen that does not produce CO2 and does not require much more energy than the electricity that goes into a li-ion battery, hydrogen is a non-started.

As electrolysis is also an electrochemical process, it is identical in basic nature as charging a battery. These are statements revealing the writer's ignorance of the basic facts, proving the point that people are refusing to explore the existence of superior battery technology.

Yes, I do understand the electrolysis process. I also understand that it is a very inefficient process that takes significantly more energy as input than is produced in the hydrogen output. That is also something that must not be ignored.

I don't think you do. The theoretical efficiency limit is 100% efficiency, same as charging a lithium ion battery. Reality is closer to this than what is in your head I suspect.

Enovix has 50+% better density for small forms.

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