14 DAY TRIAL // Toshiba, one of the leading manufacturers of portable computer systems, has demonstrated a SCiB battery designed for laptops, at this year's CEATEC exhibition, taking place in Japan between September 30 and October 4. The showcased battery is said to be capable of recharging up to 90% of its capacity within just 10 minutes.
SCiB stands for Super Charge Ion Batteries and is said to provide not only a faster recharging time, but also to endure more recharging cycles, compared with current lithium-ion batteries. These batteries were introduced last year, with the first versions being designed for industrial applications. According to the company, the SCiB batteries can endure approximately 5,000 to 6,000 recharge cycles, whereas standard Lithium-Ion batteries can only guarantee about 500 cycles.
In addition, the SCiB batteries are also claimed to be much safer than current Lithium-Ion ones and, furthermore, that they will not explode when crushed, something that can happen with lithium batteries. This feature became possible thanks to the use of a material that has a higher level of thermal stability, and because SCiB batteries are designed with safeguards against short-circuits or overheating.
During the show, which debuted today, Toshiba showcased a SCiB prototype battery installed in one of the company's Dynabook laptops. The laptop was then put in a neck and neck competition with a similar system that was equipped with a lithium-ion battery. The finality was to demonstrate, on the SCiB-enabled Toshiba Dynabook, the rapid charging capability of this battery.
However, Toshiba did not detail a specific upcoming model that would be equipped with the SCiB, as neither did it disclose a specific date for when the SCiB-powered laptops were expected to hit the market. However, in case this new technology makes its way into upcoming portable computer systems, it will certainly impact the market in a positive way.