smartphones

Teh⁣ iPhone 17 Air Could Use a silicon-Carbon Battery. What Is It?

Rumors suggest the upcoming iPhone 17 Air may feature a next-generation⁣ battery​ technology ​utilizing silicon-carbon⁢ anodes, perhaps contributing to a projected‍ price increase to⁣ around $1,099 – a ‌$200 jump from the expected iPhone⁤ 16 Plus. But what‍ exactly is ‌ a silicon-carbon battery, and what advantages does it offer?

The core challenge with using silicon in batteries lies in its ‌tendency to expand​ significantly when​ “lithiated” – the process‌ of ‍absorbing‌ lithium ions during‌ charging.‌ This expansion, up to⁣ three times⁤ the original volume, can lead to battery swelling ⁢and ultimately, safety risks, a problem familiar even‍ to users of conventional lithium-ion batteries.

Companies like Group14 are tackling this issue by combining silicon with carbon in​ a unique way.‍ According⁢ to ​Rick Luebbe of Group14,⁤ their approach begins with a highly porous carbon material. “Imagine a carbon sponge, but the ⁤pores of that sponge are on the single-digit molecule wide, we’re ⁣talking ⁢less than 10 nanometers wide,” he explains. These microscopic pores are then filled with silane gas (the silicon source), but⁤ only partially – leaving significant void space within the ‌material.

This design is key to managing the expansion. As lithium ⁢ions move⁤ to the anode during ‍charging and the silicon lithiates, it expands into the pre-existing void spaces. “It mitigates the expansion ‍at the particle level, so the battery doesn’t see the expansion,​ so ⁣it stabilizes the battery, and you get excellent cycle life,” Luebbe says.‌ “That’s the critical ⁣insight in the invention: ⁤really learning how to internalize⁤ that ⁣expansion, so that it’s insulated from the battery chemistry and ⁣mechanical⁢ operations.”

while silicon is ⁤poised to become⁤ a standard ⁣component in future lithium-ion‍ batteries, challenges remain. Vincent Chevrier, a ⁤researcher in‍ the silicon field for 15 years ⁢and a partner at battery‌ consulting firm Cyclikal, points to cost as a major hurdle. Group14’s use⁤ of silane gas,​ while yielding superior performance, can be up​ to ‍ten times more expensive than using solid silicon. This increased material cost could translate to ‌higher prices for⁤ consumer electronics.

Chevrier also cautions against inflated energy density claims ​frequently‍ enough made by‍ silicon-carbon manufacturers. Group14 states​ its silicon batteries can deliver up to 50 percent more energy density than ​conventional lithium-ion batteries. However,Chevrier notes that simply replacing ‍graphite with a silicon-carbon anode ⁣without further⁤ cell redesign typically results in a more modest 10⁢ percent increase. A full ​battery​ redesign leveraging the ⁤material could ‍potentially achieve up to a 30 percent increase in energy density.