Battery made up with viruses for mobile phones

While Boston Power has tripled the life of Li-Ion batteries, a team of MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) has developed a new type of anode and cathode to be perfectly adapted to the market for hybrid cars and mobile phones. For the first time, researchers have modified a virus (that attacks a bacterium and not human) to build the cathode of a Lithium-Ion battery from carbon nanotubes. The process is simple: the assemble viruses around the molecule of iron phosphate and cling to the carbon nanotubes to create a special conductive cathode.

This new battery can store up to three times more energy than the best battery up to the moment, but only 100 cycles of charge-discharge against 300 for a battery and traditional Sonata 1000 for Boston Power. However, their production is much cheaper and cleaner: the materials are not toxic and the process requires no solvent.

A few months ago, other researchers from MIT had already being at headlines by recharging a mobile battery in 10 seconds. The team drawing on a battery lithium iron phosphate.

Both MIT teams hopes that a few years next to produce batteries that recharge in a few seconds to several minutes (depending on capacity), that will provide power 3 times, and bear more cycle charge-discharge. that's the main characteristic for all computer equipment and mobile phones as well as the market for electric cars like the Tesla.

The cathode of this battery is made of carbon nanotubes and viruses.