Researchers discover a way to restore lost battery capacity

Rechargeable batteries are now used everywhere, from smartphones to electric vehicles. They’re convenient and more environmentally friendly, and they’ve come a long way in capacity and performance.

But there’s always been a big problem with all rechargeable batteries: the fact that they lose capacity over time.

Sure, there are best practices you can use to prevent unnecessary degradation and thereby extend the lifespan of a rechargeable battery. For example, keeping a battery between 30 and 70 percent can prolong its longevity. There’s even a dedicated feature that does this for you on modern iPhones and Android phones.

Even so, rechargeables still lose capacity despite best practices, and eventually they get so bad that you need to replace them. But we might now be one step closer to that being a problem of the past.

Related: Researchers discover a way to boost battery lifespans

Restore battery capacity with a simple trick

Researchers at Stanford University have discovered a method that can partially restore the capacity of silicon batteries. The findings were presented in an article in Science.

Silicon anodes wear out over time as individual particles split and can no longer be used for charging. However, a relatively simple trick can be used to ensure that those silicon particles reconnect.

The method involves exposing the battery to targeted current pulses for around five minutes, and these pulses cannot exceed 4 volts (otherwise the capacity will actually be reduced). In initial tests, this method was able to recover a battery’s capacity by 30 percent.

A step toward future possibilities

Lithium-ion batteries are currently the most commonly used, but silicon batteries are also installed in numerous products such as drones, wearables and electric vehicles. In the future, findings such as these could help to develop more powerful batteries that do not need to be replaced as often.

In terms of sustainability alone, it would also be helpful to find a method of restoring batteries to their full capacity after prolonged use. Until then, however, further tests need to be carried out to analyse the long-term effects.