Not long ago, the 14th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (known as the "Summer Davos Forum") was held in Tianjin. The Forum released the Top 10 Emerging Technologies Report 2023, which lists 10 emerging technologies that will have a significant positive impact on society in the next 3 to 5 years. It is worth noting that flexible batteries are listed as the first of the "top ten emerging technologies".
The report notes that traditional rigid batteries may soon become obsolete, while thin flexible batteries made of lightweight materials that can be bent, folded and stretched are about to enter the market in full.
How will flexible batteries transform the future of batteries? In which areas will it be widely used? What challenges will there be in the future? Today, let's find out.
Flexible battery: fold out of the future world
Overcome rigidity with softness
A few years ago, human beings imagined a romantic and fantastic future like this-
The mobile phone can be folded up like a handkerchief and stuffed into the pocket, the TV display can be freely rolled like a picture scroll, and the smart watch worn with you is not only as thin as a cicada wing, but also fits fully with the wrist... Isn't it cool to imagine these images?
Now, the future has come, and these beautiful fantasies and expectations are accelerating into our lives. And this acceleration process is inseparable from the "blessing" of a highly flexible energy storage device, which is - flexible battery.
Flexible batteries are batteries that can withstand deformation such as bending, stretching, twisting and even folding without changing performance. As early as the 80s of the 20th century, scientists began to try to make flexible batteries. However, due to technical and cost issues, flexible batteries are difficult to achieve large-scale applications. In recent years, with the advancement of nanotechnology, material science and 3D printing technology, flexible batteries have gradually entered the public eye.
At present, flexible batteries mainly include flexible lithium batteries, flexible film batteries, flexible fiber batteries and flexible paper batteries.
Most of the traditional rigid batteries we use every day are stacked and assembled, and are very "stiff" in size and shape. In contrast, flexible batteries mainly have the following advantages:
- Higher flexibility. Flexible batteries use a range of lightweight materials, such as bendable polymers and metal foils, to enable the battery to bend and deform without loss of performance. This flexibility brings many new possibilities for the design of smart electronic devices such as mobile phones, which can not only achieve a thinner, more fashionable appearance, but also make the device more suitable for the needs and lifestyle of users.
- More energy. Flexible batteries can be tailored and customized to suit the size and form of different devices according to specific needs. This means that flexible batteries can achieve greater energy storage in more space and save more assembly parts at the same capacity, resulting in higher energy density and power output for batteries.
——Strong environmental protection. The heavy metal materials used in some traditional batteries are costly, often non-degradable, and will produce a large amount of electronic waste at the end of their service life. Flexible batteries are produced with more recycled and reusable new materials, which helps reduce resource consumption and dependence on rare resources, and promotes the development of a green economic cycle.
- Better security. Flexible batteries have good environmental adaptability and collision resistance, and have a large heat transfer area, which is convenient for heat dissipation and management, and does not affect the use even under extreme conditions. Compared to conventional batteries, the gas produced by flexible batteries during thermal runaway is easily released, allowing rapid cooling and avoiding the risk of battery explosion due to excessive temperature.
At present, researchers around the world are racing to explore the use of newer materials and technologies to make flexible batteries. Some researchers have been inspired by the flexibility of the human spine when people do sit-ups, and developed a flexible lithium battery. No matter how bent this lithium battery is, it has significant flexibility, high energy density and stable voltage, and has broad application prospects in future wearable devices, especially folding screen electronic products and smart watches. There is also a flexible fiber battery, although only a few hundred microns thick, but the storage capacity is 123 mAh, the length is an astonishing 140 meters, its weavability and stretchability make the flexible battery can be integrated into clothing, wristbands, gloves, masks and other daily necessities...
It is foreseeable that in the near future, with its own unique advantages of "overcoming rigidity with softness", flexible batteries will replace the protagonist position of rigid batteries in many fields and create more possibilities for a better life for human beings.
The World Economic Forum announces the top 10 emerging technologies for 2023. Draftsman: Cheng Chunlei
Flowering at multiple points
According to the 2023 Top Ten Emerging Technologies Report, flexible battery technology is expected to reach a market value of $240 million by 2027. With the development of the market, flexible batteries will bloom in consumer electronics, healthcare and wearable devices, showing rich application scenarios.
Consumer electronics - In the future, the development of flexible displays is closely related to flexible batteries. Today, although we have seen the advent of foldable screen mobile phones and bendable e-books, their technology is not yet mature and the penetration rate is not high. The advent of flexible batteries will further advance foldable, rollable displays, which will bring consumers a new mobile experience, allowing them to have more screen real estate and battery life, while still being able to easily fit the device into their pocket.
Medical devices – Traditional medical devices are often bulky and inconvenient to carry, affecting patient range of motion and comfort. Flexible batteries can make medical devices lighter and more flexible. For example, wearable ECGs, flexible drug deliverers, flexible endoscopes and other devices can better adapt to the patient's body curves and activity needs, reduce unnecessary discomfort, and improve treatment results.
Electronic label field - through new technologies such as nanomaterials and printed electronics production, a stamp-sized "sheet" can provide power support for low-power electronic products for a long time. After this flexible thin-film battery is applied to electronic tags, it can make monitoring security, radio frequency identification, cold chain logistics, warehouse management and other scenarios more intelligent.
In the field of aerospace engineering - In the launch mission of the Tianhe core module of the Chinese space station, the Tianhe core module for the first time used large-area scalable flexible solar cell wings as the energy source of the spacecraft. Compared with traditional rigid and semi-rigid solar cells, the flexible wing has a small size, large unfolded area and high power repeat ratio, which can fully ensure the daily life of astronauts in the space station while meeting the normal operation of all equipment in the cabin.
With the rapid development of science and technology, the application scenarios of flexible batteries will continue to increase. As researchers continue to refine designs and overcome challenges, it is only a matter of time before flexible batteries become an integral part of our daily lives.
The combat power is considerable
Flexible batteries, in addition to being widely used in civilian fields such as smart wear, medical and health, their broad application prospects in the field of national defense and military should not be underestimated.
An important power source for individual combat systems. Flexible batteries can not only provide long-lasting and stable power for individual soldier electronic equipment on the battlefield, but also greatly reduce the weight of individual soldiers, enhance the flexibility and mobility of individual soldiers, and provide the optimal solution for the power supply selection of individual soldiers in the future. The British "Vitus" soldier system integrates flexible batteries into wearable combat vests and belts, which are easier to carry and do not hinder soldiers' movements. The power supply of the new generation of individual soldier systems in the US military has developed from a single traditional battery to a comprehensive energy system that includes flexible batteries, portable self-generated electricity, and energy recovery suitable for human body, which can effectively extend the endurance of soldiers' sensors, electronic devices and communication systems.
The "new favorite of energy" of unmanned aerial vehicles. In several local wars in recent years, UAVs have performed eye-catchingly. However, many small drones that use traditional batteries to maintain power have the shortcoming of poor endurance. If you want to continuously improve the combat performance of the drone, you must solve the problem of the energy efficiency of the battery. Flexible batteries with higher energy density, lighter weight and more convenient to carry are obviously a good choice. Once the technology matures, this will greatly improve the combat effectiveness of UAVs when performing long-range reconnaissance and surveillance missions.
There is also great potential in the field of military logistics. Flexible batteries can be integrated in jackets, gloves, shoes and socks and other clothing to achieve built-in heating, which can not only effectively enhance the warm protection of soldiers' hands, feet, knees and other parts, but also make cold clothing lighter. This is of great significance to soldiers on duty in the alpine regions of the highlands. In addition, American researchers have also developed an electronic "band-aid" based on flexible battery technology. This new stretchable wireless bioelectronic system can be used to monitor chronically infected wounds and promote wound healing through electrical stimulation and drug treatment of the wound site, which can effectively improve the effectiveness of war-wounded care.
An intelligent era belonging to flexible batteries is accelerating towards us. At present, flexible displays, flexible sensors, flexible supercapacitors and other technologies related to flexible batteries have made significant progress, and more research on flexible batteries is in the ascendant, let's wait and see. (■Zhou Yun, Cheng Chunlei)
Source: China Military Network - Jiefangjun Daily