by What are Flexible Batteries?
Currently, most portable electronic devices like smartphones, laptops, tablets use rigid lithium-ion batteries for power. These batteries have served us well but have limitations like rigid form factor and inability to bend or fold. Flexible batteries aim to solve these issues by utilizing bendable, foldable materials like plastic and thin films. They allow for more freedom in device design while maintaining or enhancing battery capacity and life.
Thin Film Battery Technology
Most Flexible Battery prototypes rely on thin film battery technology where the active battery materials like cathode, anode and electrolyte layers are deposited using physical or chemical deposition processes on thin plastic substrates like PET (polyethylene terephthalate) or PEN (polyethylene naphthalate) films. These ultra-thin film layers, only a few microns in thickness, allow the battery to retain its energy storage capability even when bent or folded. Materials commonly used in thin film batteries include lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2) as cathode, lithium metal or graphite as anode and solid or gel polymer electrolytes.
Advantages of Flexible Form Factor
Flexible batteries open up exciting new possibilities for device design thanks to their inherent flexibility and form factor advantages:
– Conformal Surface Mounting: Flexible batteries can tightly mount onto complex non-planar surfaces like curved casings without empty spaces. This allows maximizing available internal space.
– Foldable/Rollable Displays: They enable integration within foldable or rollable display devices with minimal thickness and weight penalties. Future devices may completely fold or roll up for portability.
– Wearables Integration: Thin, lightweight flexible batteries are ideal for tight integration within wearable devices of varying ergonomic form factors like smartwatches, VR headsets, health patches etc.
– Novel Package Designs: Their flexibility allows novel device packaging in non-cube or irregular shapes beyond rigid constraints of square/rectangular boxes.
Manufacturing Challenges
While flexible batteries show enormous potential, manufacturing challenges currently limit their widespread adoption:
– Process Complexity: Thin film deposition processes for fabricating flexible batteries are more complex than traditional rigid cell manufacturing and require sophisticated vacuum deposition tools.
– Lower Energy Densities: Current battery prototypes demonstrate relatively low energy density in the range of 100-250Wh/L compared to commercial lithium-ion batteries at 600-1000Wh/L. Higher densities are required for practical applications.
– Limited Cycle Life: Bending, deforming and unfolding of flexible batteries during use-unuse cycles mechanically strains active materials leading to faster capacity fade over hundreds of cycles versus thousands for rigid cells. Improving cycle life is critical.
– Cost Factiveness: Flexible battery manufacturing is less economically viable currently mainly owing to low volumes and complex multi-step processes compared to mass production techniques used in rigid batteries.
Commercialization hurdles around low production volumes, materials/process innovations, reliability improvements and lowering costs will need to be overcome before flexible batteries become mainstream. However, the inherent advantages are driving significant research interest worldwide.
Promising Applications Driving R&D
Given their form factor enabling truly new device designs, key application areas driving research and commercialization efforts of flexible batteries include:
Wearables
The tight space, weight and conformal integration needs of wearable devices make them an ideal early application for flexible batteries. Companies are working on prototypes for hearables, wrist wear, augmented reality devices and smart clothing.
Foldable Phones/Tablets
Major tech giants have announced foldable phones leveraging flexible displays which requires compliant power sources. Samsung, LG, Oppo etc are actively developing flexible battery prototypes tailored for foldables.
Medical Skin Patches
Low-profile skin-mountable medical device patches for glucose monitoring, drug delivery, cardiac monitoring etc would greatly benefit from thin flexible batteries. Several startups are targeting this application.
Smart Packaging
Integration of identifying circuits, sensors within flexible packages requires ultra-thin bendable battery power. Applications in food monitoring, temperature-controlled pharma logistics are under study.
E-textiles/Smart Fabrics
The convergence of electronics with clothing/apparel opens up potential for woven/knitted flexible batteries to enable smart functionalities in fabrics. Early prototypes are being showcased.
While flexible batteries are still at a nascent stage of development compared to existing rigid lithium-ion technologies, their inherent form factor advantages are compelling drivers for extensive ongoing research globally. Major battery/electronics firms as well as startups are actively working on materials, processing and reliability innovations needed to commercially realize the battery potential. Their adoption looks set to accelerate as foldable devices gain traction in coming years. Overcoming current manufacturing limitations to enable mass production will be the key hurdle. Once cost-effective production is demonstrated, flexible batteries may revolutionize the way we design, power and interact with portable electronics.
*Note:
1.Source: Coherent Market Insights, Public sources, Desk research
2.We have leveraged AI tools to mine information and compile it
About Author:
Ravina Pandya, Content Writer, has a strong foothold in the market research industry. She specializes in writing well-researched articles from different industries, including food and beverages, information and technology, healthcare, chemical and materials, etc. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ravina-pandya-1a3984191)
