TechTheDay

Charging electronic devices is one of the easiest things you routinely do but it is perhaps also the one that takes the longest time to complete. You usually need around three to five hours just to have your battery fully recharged. Everybody would certainly want the possibility of charging devices faster than the usual required time. Even reducing charging time by half would be a good enough bargain.

Fortunately, the probability of lightning fast charging is no longer that far out of reach. Soon, electronic devices will be able to have a full charge within 30 seconds. Thanks to Israeli startup StoreDot Ltd. and nanotechnology, charging time can be cut to as short as half a minute.

Certainly, you’re interested to know more about this tech development. The following questions and answers should provide you an adequate overview.

What is StoreDot?

Born out of the nanotechnology department of Tel Aviv University, StoreDot is a nanotechnology company based in Ramat-Gan, Israel. Its R&D efforts are currently centered on new generation, self-assembled nanodots of biological origin. These nanodots are envisioned to “change the rules of mobile device capabilities,” as the company’s website mentions. StoreDot aims to make use of nanotechnology to deliver a number of improvements in displays, device power consumption, and the use of readily available organic materials.

What is StoreDot’s solution for fast charging?

In a demo video, StoreDot showed how their nanotech-powered charger can fully charge a smartphone without even taking a minute. The company developed a prototype for the Galaxy S4 smartphone. In the demonstration, it was shown how a near-empty Galaxy S4 battery is fully charged within 30 seconds. This charging time is at least 200 times faster than the average charging time of a typical Galaxy S4.

StoreDot’s solution appears in the form of a charger comparable to the size of a common laptop charger. There is no wireless charging tech involved. The charger, powered by nanodots, is all that is put to work to hasten the charging process. There are no modifications on the Galaxy S4 battery system.

A spokesperson for StoreDot said that, so far, they have only tested the 30-second charging technology on the Galaxy S4. However, there are plans to try it on other devices in the future. There has been no name given to this specific charging technology yet except for the reference to nanodots. As the “nanodot” name infers, nanotechnology is being employed to make the extremely rapid charging possible.

How does StoreDot’s lightning fast charging work?

On StoreDot’s website, a brief description of the technology is provided. Accordingly, StoreDot’s charger capitalizes on the size of the nanodots to increase electrode capacitance. The device being charged has its indicator acting normally albeit with the astonishing speed of the battery indicator blinking from red to a yellowish hue and into a full green that indicates a full charge. The battery does not suddenly get fully charged without the device’s indicator detecting it. This could mean that the charging process is not causing anything abnormal that may damage the device or its battery. However, long-term tests still need to be conducted to ensure that the quick charging process does not really cause problems like shortening the expected life of the battery or causing other issues on the device.

When is it going to be available?

Unfortunately, StoreDot’s nanotechnology based new quick charging technology is not going to be available on the market soon. It may still take some years before it can be sold on retail. StoreDot’s executives have not commented on availability yet although it has been said that mass production may already be possible by the later part of 2016.

In May 2013, a high school student in California already attracted attention for introducing a system for fully charging cell phones within 20 to 30 seconds. In her case, what she created was a “super capacitor” with increased energy density and a longer cycle life. However, there hasn’t been information about this technology being commercialized yet.

Hopefully, these quick battery charging technologies, coupled with higher capacity batteries, become available for retail soon. They are certainly some of the most important technological innovations or advancements people need. Instead of pursuing higher display and camera resolutions, maybe companies should focus their efforts in achieving better battery technologies.