Samsung Invests $17 Million in Electric Battery Start Up for a Less Flammable, Better Performing Electric Battery
As with any new technology, there are more and more advancements in the development of better electric cars, and an integral component of that are the electric batteries that allow them to function. The difference with electric batteries, however, is that development is often slow.
That’s about to change, at least for one battery start-up in California.
According to Forbes, a company called Seeo, based in Hayward, CA, has just received a whopping $17 million in investments from Samsung Ventures to help develop a less flammable and more efficient electric battery.
Seeo is endeavoring to create a lithium ion battery that doesn’t use a flammable liquid as an electrolyte solution. The electrolyte solution — which moves lithium ions between the cathode and the anode in the battery for energy storage — is made from a solid polymer instead.
Seeo says that their batteries will also boast a 350 Watt-hour per kilogram but aims to create one with 400 Watt/kg by 2015. This basically means that the battery will have a significantly longer range of charge than the electric batteries that are currently available.
Though these advancements could mean a more impressive battery, it is still in the developmental stages. Additionally, many Americans are not ready to make the shift to driving fully electric cars.
A popular alternative to fully electric cars (and traditional internal combustion engine vehicles) is the traditional hybrid; about 4.5 million of these vehicles were sold worldwide in 2012. Hybrids don’t run from just one power source — electric or gas — they run from both.
Though battery replacement has been a source of anxiety for hybrid owners, advancements in the hybrid battery industry have already created a better-quality, higher-performing, and more reliable battery.
