There’s been a lot of news surrounding lithium-ion batteries lately: between Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 debacle and the CPSC’s ruling that all hoverboards were unsafe due to the battery’s volatile nature, we heard a lot of scary stuff.
But now, we have some good news (or at least intriguing news) surrounding lithium-ion batteries: Panasonic came out with a flexible lithium-ion battery that can recharge even after being bent or twisted.
According to Electronics 360, the battery is only about .022″ inches thick, and could be used in card-type and wearable electronics where bending is part of natural motion.
This opens the door for more advancements in wearable technology, similarly to the bendable printed materials we reported on last week.
Panasonic said that this new battery has an 80 percent initial capacity retention based on testing. It also includes a laminated body and internal structure to make it more difficult for the battery components to leak or cause dangerous heating from the twisting, which is a major concern with any products that use a lithium-ion battery, especially a wearable.
Panasonic currently is sampling the item with plans to mass produce it later.
