Power Japan Plus announces dual carbon battery that charges 20 times faster than current lithium ion batteries

Japanese power company, Power Japan Plus has announced the development of a new type of battery intended for use in automobiles and other applications, the Ryden or dual carbon battery. The company claims the battery charges 20 times faster than current lithium ion batteries, doesn't heat up, so it doesn't require cooling and is cost competitive with other current batteries used in cars and trucks. They believe the battery will be a game-changer, leading to a surge in sales of hybrid and all electric vehicles.

Representatives for Power Japan say the battery is actually something completely new—it's made of carbon instead of nickel, cobalt or manganese. Not only does that make it cheaper to make but it does away with the thermal change that exists with current batteries that necessitate the installation of cooling systems (and does away with the associated fire hazard in crashes). They add that the carbon they use is new as well—it's an organic compound grown from cotton fibers. That means that when the battery is no longer useful, it can be easily recycled. Due to its structure, it's also able to be fully discharged without damage, which means more power can be used before recharging, slightly increasing distance capabilities. The new battery can also be configured to fit in a standard 18650 cell and the unique design also lends itself to higher than average reliability, with a lifespan of 3,000 charge/discharge cycles.

The company provides a clear example of the faster recharge speed—they claim that a battery the size of the one used in a Nissan Leaf, which currently takes approximately four hours to charge, could be charged in just twelve minutes. As part of the announcement, reps for the company said that Power Japan will only be making the batteries for specialty applications such as medical devices or for use in satellites—they've already built a production facility that they say will be churning out thousands of the new batteries by the end of the year. As for batteries to be used in cars, the company says it will be licensing the technology to other companies who will in turn make the batteries for installation and use in a wide variety of vehicles.