Battery technology for wearables and sensors Solid-state battery material with energy density of 1,000 Wh/L

Related Vendors

TDK Electronics Europe GmbH

FAULHABER Drive Systems

Wuxi InfiMotion Technology Co., Ltd.

The engineers at the TDK corporation report the design of a new material for their in-house CeraCharge line, a rechargeable solid-state battery that can be easily integrated thanks to SMD technology. The new material promises a significantly higher energy density than the previous one. TDK plans to shrink CeraCharge to button cell size to comply with the EU Battery Regulation.

The energy transition of humanity relies, among other things, on battery technology, because all the electricity generated from renewable energies that is not immediately consumed must be stored somewhere. Also, the mobility transition towards electric cars is being driven forward, and correspondingly countless mobile storage options are needed; ideally equipped with bidirectional charging technology. In most cases, lithium-ion batteries are currently used, but numerous companies are researching further possibilities for how to construct rechargeable batteries and build them in a more environmentally friendly way. The topic of Na-ion batteries is currently very hot, for example.

But we don't just need the big batteries, we also need the small ones, to finally get rid of disposable batteries like the well-known button cells once and for all - and thus do something for the environment. The Japanese conglomerate TDK, which offers a variety of applications in the field of electronic components, sensors, actuators and storage, has been focusing for some time on refining its in-house CeraCharge technology. This is a rechargeable solid-state battery that, thanks to SMD technology, can be easily integrated into modern electronic products.

Now, the people at TDK have celebrated a breakthrough in the search for a new material for CeraCharge—and in the endeavor to replace button cells in wearables such as headphones and hearing aids with solid-state batteries in the future.

100 times higher energy density than the old material

With the new material, TDK developers achieve an energy density of 1,000 Wh/L, which is estimated to be 100 times higher than the old material. Solid-state batteries currently achieve volumetric energy densities of about 300 to 500 Wh/L. "Using TDK's proprietary material technology, we've been able to develop a material for the new solid-state battery that has a significantly higher energy density than the conventional, mass-produced CeraCharge solid-state batteries from TDK, thanks to the use of an oxide-based solid electrolyte and anodes made of lithium alloys," announce the responsible parties at the company.

The solid-state batteries are intended to be used primarily in wearables such as headphones, hearing aids, or smartwatches in the future, replacing button cell primary batteries. In addition, the solid-state batteries are also expected to be used in environmental sensors. "TDK will continue to develop the battery cells and the design of the housing structure and ramp up mass production, with the development of the new product, the solid-state battery, taking center stage. Another goal is to increase the battery's capacity through multi-layer lamination technology and to expand its operating temperature range by applying the production technique that TDK has acquired in its electronic components business," it is explained.

TDK's advancements in the development of solid-state batteries will likely not be exclusively for portable electronics in the future. Users of electric vehicles and drones desire a high energy density in batteries to achieve longer operating times and higher performance in a compact design. Also, medical devices, wearables, and IoT devices benefit from powerful and lightweight batteries. These requirements also extend to military applications, renewable energy, industrial tools, and space travel, where efficiency and reliability are crucial. (sb)