Waterloo researcher leading the charge for next-generation battery

The race to build a better battery has drawn in some of the world’s biggest innovators — notably billionaire CEO Elon Musk, who is one of the players in the global drive to invent a low-cost, powerful battery to fuel the next-generation of electric cars.

Now, a University of Waterloo team, that already has several patents for its silicon battery research, has developed a new technology that promises to extend the life of a lithium-ion battery by 40 to 60 per cent. Lithium-ion batteries power everything from smartphones, to wearable devices and electric cars. The new silicon technology would allow an electric car to travel up to 500 kilometres before its battery needs to be recharged and would drastically reduce its cost.

Read the full story...