Researchers have developed a new lightweight, rechargeable battery using paper, algae and salt.

    Battery technology has been slow to develop in the past few decades, with few advances in battery design, charging rate or capacity, but the new battery can be recharged within seconds – a huge advance on existing technology.

    Researchers from Uppsala University, Sweden, built the environmentally-friendly battery by making electrodes out of thin pieces of paper coated with cellulose from algae, which dramatically increases their surface area. These paper electrodes are separated by a piece of cellulose coated in sodium chloride – table salt -– which acts as the electrolyte.

    "This design is new and it provides both sufficiently high battery capacities （due to the large surgace area） and the ability to charge （and discharge） the battery very rapidly （due to the thin layer of the conducting polymer）, says Leif Nyholm, an author on the paper published in Nano Letters. "Since our approach is based on the use of electrodes composed of cellulose and electrolyte composed merely of sodium chloride, the device is inexpensive and straightforward to manufacture. This holds great promise for use in areas where, for example, lithium batteries cannot be employed."

    Not only is the new battery made with cheap materials, but it can also be put together quickly and could have implications for powering medical diagnostic devices in developing countries, said Maria Stromme in Technology Review, who is also another co-author on the study.

    Luis Ortiz, research director from Group Sadoway at MIT said Nyholm and his colleagues' design is a "welcome development and should encourage other researchers to take chances," particularly as there is a lack of "fresh ideas" about how to advance battery technology.

    He questioned the terminology applied to it, suggesting it might be a "super/ultra capacitor rather than a battery since it looks like much （though not all） of the energy is stored capacitively."

    Even so, he said, that's not necessarily a bad thing. "Capacitors certainly have an important role in the energy storage landscape, so to put this label on the technology is not a negative."

    研究者发明了一种新型的用纸、藻类和盐造成的轻便的、可充电的电池。在过去的数十年，电池技术的发展纪极为缓慢的，只是在电池的设计、充电量或者容量方面有所改进，但是这种新型的电池可以在几秒钟内充满电--对目前的技术来说是一个很大的进步。

    来自瑞典乌普沙拉大学的研究者设计出这种用几条外面凃有从藻类中提取的纤维素的纸条制作成的电极的环境友好型电池，从而极大的提高了其表面积。这些纸质电极在氯化钠或食盐（其起到电解质的作用）,被凃有的纤维素分开。

    Leif Nyholm在《纳米文摘》上发表文章说，"这是一种新型的设计，其可以不但可以提供充足的高电量（因为巨大的表面积）和快速的充电和放电能力（因为纤细的导电聚合物层）."因为我们的方法是给予使用纤维素构成的电极和几乎是由氯化钠构成的电解质，因而这种设备是可以直接制造生产的，而且价格不贵。在锂电池不能胜任的领域，这种新型电池将有广阔的使用前景。

    这一研究成果的另一作者Maria Stromme 在《技术评论》说，这种新型电池不仅制造材料价格低廉，而且可以快速整合，并且在发达国家可以为电子诊断仪器提供电源。

    麻省理工学院Sadoway团队负责人Luis Ortiz说，Nyholm和他的同事的这项设计"是一种积极的发展，并且可以鼓励其他研究者继续研究开发",尤其是在这个缺乏"新鲜创意"来发展电池技术的领域。

    他质疑这项技术的可应用性，说"既然其看起来可以储存很多的能量（其实不然）,那它可能是一种超强或者巨大的电容器而不是一种电池。"

    Luis Ortiz说，虽然如此，这或许还是一项好事情。"电容器在电力储存领域占有重要地位，因而把这个标签放在这项技术上不是一件坏事情。"