A team of researchers over at Samsung’s Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT) have developed a unique battery material from graphene that enables a 45 percent increase in battery capacity and 5x faster charging speeds compared to traditional Li-ion batteries. 

Samsung says that a battery based on the “graphene ball” only requires 12 minutes to fully charge. Additionally, the battery can maintain a stable temperature of 60’C which makes it ideal for use in electric vehicles.

In its research, SAIT sought for an approach to apply graphene, a material with high strength and conductivity to batteries, and discovered a mechanism to mass synthesize graphene into a 3D form like popcorn using affordable silica (SiO2). This “graphene ball” was utilized for both the anode protective layer and cathode materials in lithium-ion batteries. This ensured an increase of charging capacity, decrease of charging time as well as stable temperatures.

As is usually the case with any new breakthrough development in battery technology, there is still a long time to go before we can possibly see batteries made from “graphene ball” being used in smartphones and electric vehicles. Such batteries will have to go through rigorous testing and certification process to ensure they are safe for public use. Not to forget, it is also important to see if they can be manufactured on scale or not.