The Great Laptop Battery Recall of 2006 had everyone paranoid that their MacBooks or ThinkPads could catch fire and cause havoc at any moment. Although that string of incidents appears to be over, the most commonly-found batteries can still catch fire under the right conditions. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research ISC in Germany hope to eliminate that concern, though, by developing lithium-ion batteries with no flammable materials.

"We have succeeded in replacing the inflammable organic electrolytes with a non-flammable polymer that retains its shape," ISC team leader Dr. Kai-Christian Möller said in a statement. "This considerably enhances the safety of lithium-ion batteries. What’s more, because it is a solid substance, the electrolyte cannot leak out of the battery."

According to ISC, the polymer is derived from an inorganic compound that allows organic side chains to attach to it, called Ormocer. The challenge, however, is to create a non-flammable polymer that retains its shape, but doesn't suffer when it comes to actually transmitting the energy. "Normally, the more solid a polymer is, the less conductive it becomes," said Möller. "But we had numerous parameters that we could adjust—for example, we can use coupling elements with two, three or four arms. As a result, we have more possibilities with Ormocer than with a single type of plastic."



Battery fires: soon to be a thing of the past?

The researchers already have a prototype of the new battery, but don't expect it to enter the hands of consumers for another three to five years. This is because they believe the battery could use some improvements to its storage capacity and efficiency in delivering power before introducing it to the masses. ISC says that once these improvements are made, the battery could even compete with lead batteries for cars.

The technology could make battery fires one of those things that people of the future will look back on as if it were stone age history. In 2006, big companies like Dell, Toshiba, and Apple all issued recalls over their Sony-made batteries within a few months of each other after reports began to spread about battery fires and explosions all over the world. Sony itself finally issued a global Li-ion battery recall in September of 2006 to address "recent overheating incidents." Ultimately, Sony and other computer manufacturers recalled close to 10 million units.

In addition to the fire-resistant batteries, Fraunhofer also recently announced a partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in order to further research "green" energy technologies. The two will focus on developing green energy systems for buildings and devices at the MIT-Fraunhofer Institute for Sustainable Energy Systems near MIT's campus in Massachusetts.