New, Improved High Energy-Density Lithium-ion Batteries Have Come to Market

“That’s an enormous difference,” says Jon Bornstein of Amprius. Silicon hairs shown in the photo swell and shrink without damage during charge and discharge. The report notes that this new development could lead to improved electric power systems for manned vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) transport systems. Initial cells are “very expensive,” Bornstein admits, but as production volume grows he expects them to be close to cost parity with conventional lithium-ion cells by the mid-2020s, when the urban air mobility market is forecast to take off. This development bodes well for numerous robotics, AI and other e-applications.