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Explore the latest breakthroughs, expert insights, and upcoming battery tech industry events, along with resources and blogs where we are shaping the future of battery performance technology.

March 3, 2026

Software is the “Seoul” of the Battery Asset

Qnovo announces a strategic investment from Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Corporation to advance the deployment of battery software across electric mobility and future platforms.

Publications

THE RISE AND FALL OF A123 SYSTEMS

On 24 September 2009, A123 Systems become a public company trading under the ticker symbol of AONE on the NASDAQ. Its shares soared on the first day of trading closing the day at $20.29 per share, making the company valued at nearly $1.2 Billion. It...

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MOBILE USERS: REBEL AT THE BATTERY COMPROMISES

Our Silicon Valley newspaper, the San Jose Mercury News, published this morning an article on the all-known battery blues. We have heard this story before. Your battery runs out before your day is out. The paper quotes Prof. K.M. Abraham, from the Center...

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THE BATTERY COMPROMISES OF MOBILE DEVICE MAKERS

We have seen time and time again: the consumers’ #1 priority is the battery. That’s right, not 4K video, not 40Mpixel cameras, or a power button to operate with your middle finger…it’s the battery. So let’s see how the leading models of 2014 fared on battery life...

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THE LITTLE COMPANIES THAT COULD

Imagine a world where your device, whatever it may be, has a source of energy — may be a battery, may be not — that lasts, I mean lasts to the point you don’t think about the period. It lasts in its operation and lasts in its longevity. If you ever find yourself with a low...

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THINNER IS NOT BETTER

What does the new iPhone 6, Samsung Galaxy A7, Huawei Ascend P6 have in common? First, they are amongst the thinnest mobile smartphones ever made. The iPhone is 6.9 mm. The A7 is a mere 6.3 mm and the P6 comes in at a paper-thin 6.2 mm. Thickness...

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…AND THE SURVEY SAYS:

This year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, which is just ending, has given us, consumers, a lot of new gadgets to ponder. We saw a gamut of new toys from larger TVs, 4K video, curved screens and curved smartphones, to wearable devices and...

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LITHIUM IS GOLD

You have got to be saying, “Wait!”, this is non sense. That perennial Periodic Table that we all took in high-school chemistry said that Lithium had an atomic number of 3, yes three, and Gold had an atomic number of 79. Gold is 28 times heavier than Lithium…are we...

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YOUR BATTERY IS FINE, YOUR APPS ARE NOT!

It is nearly guaranteed that every consumer has looked at least once at their mobile device in total bewilderment, wondering how their battery came to be depleted. If it happens more than once, they begin to suspect that they battery is defective or has gone bad...

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ARE LITHIUM ION BATTERIES BECOMING UNSAFE?

I just returned from travel in China. The Chinese airport authorities take very seriously the transport of lithium ion batteries on board of commercial airliners. If a passenger is carrying an unknown or unlabeled or improperly marked lithium ion battery in any form...

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WHY STEP CHARGING IS MISLEADING

You are now asking, what is “step charging?” The standard charging methodology for lithium ion batteries has been something called CCCV, which stands for constant-current-constant-voltage. As the name implies, the charging starts with a phase of constant...

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LCO, LFP, NMC… CRYPTIC LIVES OF THE CATHODE

What flavors does the lithium ion battery come with? The answer is: quite a few. They represent the various combinations of materials that are used for the two electrodes, the anode and the cathode. It turns out the available choices for the anode are quite limited...

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WHAT ARE THE REAL 0% AND 100% POINTS?

Your fuel gauge indicator, whether it is in your smartphone, tablet or even electric vehicle, gives an indication of remaining charge in your battery. That indicator is universally given in percentage. It is assumed that at 100%, the battery is full, and at 0%, the battery...

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THE BATTERY SCANDAL OF THE BOEING 787

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released today its incident report on the battery fire that led to the grounding of the Boeing 787 fleet for many months. It is a thorough report, nearly 100 pages long, that examines in great detail all aspects of...

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WHAT IS QUICK CHARGE 2.0 FROM QUALCOMM?

We see it in Qualcomm’s tweets. We see it in some published articles. We see it in fine prints from a few smartphone makers. It says “fast charging using Quick Charge 2.0.” What is it? In my earlier posts, I spoke about two pieces that are essential for fast charging...

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CHEATING THE REPORTED CHARGE TIME

I doubt that anyone will resist fast charging from becoming standard. Once a norm, I also doubt anyone will even refer to it as fast charging. The comparison then becomes one between “normal charging” vs. “slow charging.” This is a day we should all look...

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DON’T ALWAYS TRUST YOUR ENGINEERS

I described earlier the two pieces of the fast charging puzzle. There is first the power delivery from the wall socket to your mobile device, and then there is managing the charging power into the battery so it does not get damaged. The first piece of the puzzle...

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I WANT TO CHARGE WITH A SOLAR CELL – OR NOT!

I am sure many have wondered about the possibility of pasting a solar cell on the back of their mobile device to charge their battery. The idea is elegant but, it turns out, is not terribly practical. We will go through the analysis together. First, let’s establish...

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WHY IS FAST CHARGING SEEMINGLY DIFFICULT? OR IS IT?

We know and complain about the dismal charging times of modern smartphones! But why is it that these marvels take several hours to charge? That’s what we will explore today. There are two pieces to this puzzle. The first piece relates to power delivery...

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THE SCIENCE BEHIND WHY THE BATTERY VENDORS ARE HITTING THE WALL

You have heard it before from me: battery performance is getting seriously challenged. The battery vendors are having a difficult time, and I am being kind, in meeting the expectations of the mobile device manufacturers. Specifically, it is getting extremely difficult for...

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ELECTRICAL CHARACTERISTICS DURING CHARGING

If you own a mobile device and in need to charge it, the first thing you do is to find a (or your) AC adapter with a USB cable, then plug it into the appropriate USB charging port on your device…et voila! Come back some hours later and your battery should be full...

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A PEEK INSIDE THE BATTERY OF A TESLA MODEL S

A single lithium-ion 18650 cell is relatively small in size and in capacity. So how does Tesla pack 85,000 W.h in the battery pack of the Tesla Model S? The answer is very carefully. The battery pack in a Tesla S is a very sophisticated assembly of several thousands...

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COST, COST AND COST

The cost of today’s lithium ion battery constitutes a very large fraction of the total cost of electric vehicles, and a very visible portion of the total BOM (bill of materials) cost for a mobile device. It is estimated that the battery pack for a Chevy Volt costs nearly...

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THE DIFFERENT SHAPES OF A BATTERY…

That is of a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, of course….We all know that lead-acid batteries, the type you have under your hood, tend to be of a standard size, but lithium-ion batteries can come in a multitude of packaging and shapes. One of the most common...

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HOW DOES A FUEL GAUGE WORK?

There is a little icon on a top corner of your mobile device that reads a percentage value corresponding to the fraction that your battery is full — this fraction is known as state of charge (SoC). The little charge measurement instrument is embedded in the mobile device...

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STANDARD GAMES BATTERY VENDORS PLAY

By now you are familiar with the limitations of a rechargeable lithium-ion battery. There are three parameters that I have covered so far that describe the general performance of a lithium-ion battery. They are energy density (which dictates capacity), charge rate...