Laptop Battery Talk

The lithium-ion battery maker has raised $45 million in a third round of funding. It also has signed its second contract manufacturing deal, an agreement with China’s GP Batteries, which will give it the capacity to churn out a million batteries a month by the end of 2008. In all, Boston-Power has raised more than $68 million in funding.

Hewlett-Packard plans to release a notebook sporting one of Boston’s Sonata batteries this year, and other large computer makers are currently in the final testing phases with the Sonata, Boston-Power CEO Christina Lampe-Onnerud said in an interview. (Last year, HP was still testing the hp pavilion dv6000 battery.)

Boston-Power also has hatched plans to move into making large format lithium-ion batteries that could be used in plug-in hybrid cars. The current Sonata batteries for notebooks are based on small format cells, and each cell provides about 4.4 amp hours of power. Conventional laptop batteries provide about 2.6 amp hours. (Amp hours measure how much power a battery can store.)

Plug-in hybrids require batteries with cells that can provide 5 to 10 amp hours. Boston Power, in its labs, has come up with batteries that get into this range, but they are still in the experimental stage. (A pavilion dv6000 battery for a plug-in will also contain far more cells than a typical six- to nine-cell notebook battery.)

“We have solved a fundamental problem for large cells,” Lampe-Onnerud said. “We will take the same time to make sure it is fine-tuned for the appropriate market.”

Boston-Power is one of a number of relatively new companies trying to improve the humble battery, particularly the now familiar lithium-ion ones. A favorite of notebook makers and consumer electronics manufacturers, lithium-ion batteries(hp dv6000 battery,hp pavilion dv2000 battery) can hold more energy than competing types of batteries.

Unfortunately, they also come with a glaring side effect. They can short on occasion, resulting in a “runaway thermal reaction” in industry parlance. In layman’s terms, that’s a fire or an explosion. Recalls in 2006 cost Sony millions of dollars.

Some companies have tinkered with the internal chemistry of the batteries. Notebooks contain lithium cobalt batteries. Altair Nanotechnologies and EnerDel have devised lithium titanate batteries, while others have come up with lithium potassium batteries. The change in chemistry lowers the risk of explosions, but also lowers the energy density. Lower energy density directly leads to lower mileage or runtime on laptops. Others are looking at getting rid of lithium altogether and switching to a rechargeable zinc battery.

By contrast, Boston-Power has largely kept the internal chemistry the same and instead fine-tuned the other elements that make up a battery. (Lampe-Onnerud and other members of the Boston-Power executive team have worked in the lithium-ion industry for years.) The can, or outside casing around the battery cells, on the Sonata is made from a metal alloy that is stronger than the iron cans used with conventional laptop batteries(apple powerbook g4 battery) and, thus, will remain intact in the case of a thermal reaction or fire, according to the company.

Boston-Power also spent a lot of time on the interrupt system, which prompts the battery to shut down permanently if there is danger of a thermal reaction. The company can’t guarantee the batteries will never have problems, but it has added safety features not seen in ordinary batteries.

In addition, Boston-Power works closely with its contract manufacturers, Lampe-Onnerud said, and has developed a process monitoring system that collects more accurate data about each battery as it goes through manufacturing and assembly.

“Some factories still use very, very rudimental quality measures,” she said.

At the same time, the Sonata will outperform conventional batteries, the company said. It will recharge from depleted to 80 percent capacity in about 30 minutes. The Sonata also will provide like-new performance for three years, according to the company. Most notebook batteries begin to degrade after three to six months.

And runtime? Lampe-Onnerud said she gets four hours out of the conventionally sized Sonata plugged into her notebook on a regular basis in ordinary conditions. The power meters on most notebooks say they get four hours,hp pavlion dv6000 battery, but in reality the runtime is shorter than that.

There is a catch, however. The Sonata will sell at a premium. Notebook makers always try to minimize component costs. Manufacturers also tend to be skittish when it comes to trying out products from start-ups.

I received your battery yesterday from UPS and noted that the open circuit voltage was 11.2 volts. This is important becauseit tells me that this particular battery is probably “good” but just 100% electrically discharged.

A “good” fully charged battery has an open circuit voltage Hp Pavilion dv2000 battery of about 12.65 to 12.70 volts depending on the manufacture’s design and the intended application.

If a known “good” battery has an open circuit voltage of 11.80 V or lower it is considered to be 100% discharged or like a car’s gas tank, completely empty. A voltage reading of about 10.0 volts would lead me to think the battery has one defective cell and is no longer fit for service and needs to be replaced.

It is not easy to load test a battery that has less than 12.0 V to determine it serviceability so it is necessary to attempt to recharge it. A complicating factor is that unless the battery has at least 11.8 volts the charger will not “see” a complete electrical circuit and will not start to charge the battery no matter the length Pavilion dv2000 battery of time it is hooked up to the battery.

Either the discharged battery has to be jumped with a battery that has a voltage of at least 12.4 volts or higher or a special charger must be used. Even then it might take quite a few minutes for the discharged battery to even start to accept a charge. Then of course it will take a number of hours for the battery to reach 12.6 volts and be considered fully charged.

Now at this point the now fully recharged battery can be tested but, as a further precaution it is best to let this Hp Pavilion dv6000 battery return to a normal room temperature as a “hot” battery will test at a higher capacity and could appear good when in fact it is finished its service life.

So after recharging your battery yesterday afternoon I let it cool down overnight and upon coming to work this morning proceeded to test it. The results were exactly as I suspect when we first talked a few weeks ago and I tried to explain what I thought the problem really was.

I believe that your charger or the charger connections are not working properly. So when you finally receive the new batteryI believe that you are again going to have another “dead” battery situation. In this case, I suggest that you first replace your charger before attempt to charge the new battery.

Bottom line is, in an attempt to assuage a good customer and in order to provide the most sensitive Hp dv6000 battery customer service I did not assert my opinion when we first talked and had you check out the charger.

All in all I need your business and your good will to continue to be successful and hopefully we will hear from you again and quite possibly many of your friends and contacts.

With global economies gripped by recession fears two leading Japanese electronics companies are seeking a merger to combat the decline in demand for consumer electronics. Panasonic and Sanyo, both based in Osaka, are in preliminary talks to have Sanyo join Panasonic as a subsidiary Hp pavilion zv5000 battery and will disclose the details of the proposed merger in December.

The merger would create a consumer electronics giant with combined annual sales of $111.5 billion. Panasonic, the world’s largest makers of plasma televisions, would benefit in several areas with the acquisition of Sanyo with rechargeable laptop batteries and solar cell technology being of greatest importance.

Currently Sanyo is the world’s largest maker of rechargeable batteries that are primarily used to power cell phones and laptop computers. Sanyo also has advanced research and development in the increasingly popular field of solar cell technology. With many companies looking at reusable energy sources to deal with rising fuel costs and finite oil reserves Sanyo presents Panasonic with the opportunity to enter the solar market and compete with other consumer Hp F4809A,electronic manufacturers in South Korea and China.

Sanyo is the world’s 7th largest manufacturer of solar cells with a 4.4% global market share. With a larger capital investment from Panasonic analysts say Sanyo could become the leader in solar cell technology. Sanyo also maintains a 40% global market share of lithium-ion batteries and combined with Panasonic the two would control nearly half the world market.

Panasonic is also interested in Sanyo’s lithium-ion batteries for automobiles that could be used with Panasonic’s leading fuel cell technology in the pursuit of eco-friendly car engines. Car manufacturing is another industry in dire economic straits and the combined technology of Panasonic and Sanyo could be a key factor in winning the the race to produce clean, environmentally safe automobiles.

Both companies say the recent downturn in the consumer electronics industry as a result of a worsening global recession has forced Hp F4809A battery each to consider new options for staying competitive.