Battery replacement chips answer laptop woes

Eneco reckons its newly developed technology could provide the perfect solution to the problems now facing laptop manufacturers.

In the wake of the recent recall of 5.9 million Sony-produced batteries by Apple and Dell, US-based energy savings developer Eneco has revealed that its newly developed technology could provide the perfect solution to the problems now facing laptop manufacturers.

Not only would Eneco's "Thermal Chip", essentially a new type of semiconductor, solve the present issue of overheating, it would also provide the basis for a far cheaper and more efficient power supply in the long-term, enabling laptops to operate without the aid of an external power source for many hours, and be "recharged" almost instantly.

It has been widely reported that the batteries at the centre of the current situation are "shorting" due to metal particle contamination introduced during the manufacturing process.

This creates a local hot spot which can result in an avalanche effect: one cell fails and can catch fire from the heat generated, which in turn heats its neighbours in the laptop battery pack, causing them to catch fire in what can become a catastrophic snowball effect.

Furthermore, lithium-ion batteries of this type have no inherent control or regulation, allowing them to continue operating even if they are accidentally shorted.

On the other hand, a battery replacement power supply using Eneco technology is a smart system - it is intelligent and under self-management.

A system based on Eneco Thermal Chips produces heat internally that is subsequently converted to electricity, but the Eneco heating subsystem is actively managed and, more specifically, temperature controlled.

"Due to the fact that the technology has only recently been developed, we do not have an existing battery-replacement product on the market", adds Eneco's CEO, Dr Lew Brown.

"However, we are already in contact with a number of operators in the laptop sector, including both Sony and Dell, and hope that the battery recall issue provides an additional incentive for the relevant companies to work with us, and begin to realise the massive benefits our technology can provide".

Eneco's Thermal Chip is in some respects similar to a fuel cell, but a fuel cell converts the chemical energy of a fuel to electricity whereas a Thermal Chip converts heat energy to electricity.

Its energy density (a measure of power production for a given weight or size) is five-times better than current lithium-ion-batteries and two- to four-times better than future micro fuel cell capabilities projected for 2010.

The Thermal Chip has the following key characteristics: energy density efficiencies far in excess of all other available technologies; reduced weight and size to fit with the new portable power needs of consumer electronics; semiconductor technology that allows for efficient manufacturing, high reliability, long life and low maintenance; the ability to convert waste heat economically and directly into electric power without moving parts to wear or make noise; and is readily scaleable from very small to very large applications without losing efficiency or cost effectiveness.

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