Running on air

A new type of air-fuelled battery could give up to 10 times the energy storage of designs currently available.

This step-change in capacity could pave the way for a new generation of electric cars, mobile phones and laptops.

The research work, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), is being led by engineers at the University of St Andrews with partners at Strathclyde and Newcastle.

The new design has the potential to improve the performance of portable electronic products and give a major boost to the renewable energy industry. The batteries will enable a constant electrical output from sources such as wind or solar, which stop generating when the weather changes or night falls.

The research team explained the improved capacity is due to a component that uses oxygen drawn from the air during discharge, replacing one chemical constituent used in rechargeable batteries. It is claimed that not carrying the chemicals around in the battery offers more energy for the same size battery. The researchers believe this is a significant development for electric car developers who have struggled for a long time to find smaller and lighter batteries with all the necessary charge capacity.