Why is smartphone battery technology still stagnant?

While smartphones and other electronic devices have continuously evolved, battery technology has seen virtually no significant improvements in the past 30 years.

Earlier this year, Ellen Williams, director of the development center at the U.S. Department of Energy, said her research team had made significant progress in battery technology. While the results are promising, commercialization remains challenging due to the relatively small size and high cost.

Lithium-ion battery technology has seen virtually no improvement in over 30 years.

Another startup project is developing a safe, economical, compact, and low-cost energy storage technology that costs less than $100 per kilowatt-hour. This forms the basis for creating a backup power source, overcoming the problem of providing 24/7 power to the grid from wind or solar energy, while also making electric vehicles lighter and cheaper.

However, none of the aforementioned technologies have been widely commercialized. Even Tesla CEO Elon Musk, known for his bold ideas, has to admit that electric vehicle manufacturers are currently engaged in the arduous task of improving lithium-ion batteries, rather than creating a breakthrough.

Tesla will invest approximately $5 billion to build a lithium-ion battery manufacturing plant. Conversely, a number of new battery technology projects are facing production and buyer-finding challenges. Investors are finding that investing in next-generation batteries doesn't yield sufficient economic benefits, and therefore current battery technology remains irreplaceable.

Looking specifically at smartphones, specifications are constantly evolving, and new features are updated daily, but battery life remains a persistent weakness. For example, the iPhone, compared to its first generation, is dozens of times more powerful, yet its battery life is still limited to just one day. The only thing manufacturers have managed to do is create more space to accommodate a larger battery.

The three giants in the battery industry—Samsung, LG, and Panasonic—are less interested in discovering new chemistry and creating next-generation battery technology. They focus on improving existing products, and clearly, lithium-ion batteries, a technology first developed in the 1970s, continue to dominate today.

According to VNE