New phone battery - charges up in less than a minute

New battery technology developed at Stanford University could mean a phone could be fully charged in less than a minute. Photo / Thinkstock

Smartphones could be charged in less than a minute after scientists at Stanford University invented an aluminium battery so powerful it could revolutionise the industry.

The new rechargeable battery can go from flat to full in a fraction of the time it currently takes to pull in enough electricity to fully charge a phone, laptop or tablet.

An iPhone 6 takes around two hours to fully charge its in-built battery but fitted with the aluminium power source it would be topped up in about 60 seconds.

And it will keep going for more than seven times as long as a lithium-ion battery.

A traditional battery can be recharged around 1,000 times, while this can withstand 7,500 cycles.

It produces half the voltage of a typical lithium battery but the scientists believe they will improve output within the next few years.

"Our battery has everything you'd dream a battery should have: inexpensive electrodes, good safety, high-speed charging, flexibility and long cycle life," said Hongjie Dai, professor of chemistry at Stanford University.

"We have developed a battery that may replace existing storage devices, such as alkaline batteries, which are bad for the environment, and lithium-ion batteries, which occasionally burst into flames.

"Millions of consumers use 1.5-volt AA and AAA batteries," he said. "Our rechargeable aluminium battery generates about two volts of electricity.

"Lithium-ion batteries used in millions of laptops and smartphones take a long time to charge and are so volatile some airlines no longer accept them on passenger flights.

"The electrolyte is basically a salt that's liquid at room temperature, so it's very safe," added Stanford graduate student Ming Gong."Our new battery won't catch fire, even if you drill through it," added Prof Dai."Another feature is flexibility. You can bend it and fold it. Aluminium is also a cheaper metal than lithium."

The research was published in the journal Nature.