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IBM does not currently have battery research programs in place. However, Narayan says that IBM has the expertise needed to tackle the science problems. In addition to Oak Ridge, IBM will partner with Lawrence Berkeley, Lawrence Livermore, Argonne, and Pacific Northwest national labs. The company and its collaborators are currently working on a proposal for funding from the U.S. Department of Energy under the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy. Research on lithium-metal batteries stalled about 20 years ago. In 1989, Canadian company Moli Energy recalled its rechargeable lithium-metal batteries, which used not air but a more traditional cathode, after one caught fire; the incident led to legal action, and the company declared bankruptcy. Soon after, Sony brought to market the first rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, which were safer, and research on lithium-metal electrodes slowed nearly to a halt. (After restructuring, Moli Energy refocused its research efforts and is now selling battery under the name Molicel.) Only a handful of labs around the world, including those at PolyPlus Battery, in Berkeley, CA, Japan's AIST, and St. Andrews University, in Scotland, are currently working on lithium-air batteries. Laptop Battery Laptop Battery Laptop Battery Laptop Battery Laptop Battery two times better than they are today," he says. "To really make an impact on transportation and on the grid, you need higher energy density than that." One of the project's goals, says Narayan, is a lightweight 500-mile battery for a family car. The Chevy Volt can go 40 miles before using the gas tank, and Tesla Motors' Model S line can travel up to 300 miles without a recharge. One of the main challenges in making lithium metal-air batteries is that "air isn't just oxygen," says Jeff Dahn, a professor of materials science at Dalhousie University, in Nova Scotia. Where there's air there's moisture, and "humidity is the death of lithium," says Dahn. When lithium metal meets water, an explosive Laptop Battery acer Laptop Battery Dell Laptop Battery hp Laptop Battery Toshiba Laptop Battery reaction ensues. These batteries will require protective membranes that exclude water but let in oxygen, and are stable over time.
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