Samsung develops 'graphene ball' to speed up battery charging

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Samsung Electronics' research arm has successfully synthesized a "graphene ball" that can be used to make lithium-ion batteries last longer and charge faster, the company has said.

Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT) said using graphene ball material to make batteries will increase their capacity by 45 percent and increase their charging speed by five times.

Current lithium-ion batteries take an hour to fully charge but this will be reduced to 12 minutes with the new tech, Samsung said.

Batteries that use graphene ball can also maintain a temperature of 60 degrees Celsius that is required for use in electric cars, the company added.

The full findings of SAIT were published on Nature this month. SAIT's team found a mechanism to use SiO2, or silica, to synthesize graphene like three dimensional popcorn. They then used these graphene balls as material for anode and cathode on lithium-ion batteries.

Samsung has patented the technology in South Korea and the US.

Lithium-ion batteries were first commercialized in 1991 and have since been the standard for use in electronic devices. However, many see the technology as reaching is limitations and are looking for alternative sources.

Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 caught fire last year due to faulty lithium-ion batteries.

Graphene is highly conductive and durable and scientists are looking into methods for various applications. A Korean research team made an OLED display using the material earlier this year in April.

SAIT, which develops core technology that will possibly be widely applied in the future, opened a AI lab in Canada this year.

The research arm was also behind the development of cadmium-free quantum dot materials that are being used for Samsung's flagship QLED TVs.