Huawei’s Battery Prototype Charges to 50% in 5 Minutes

With the increase in screen size and power of smartphones, power is always a concern, many devices only lasting a day on a single charge. Current quick charging technologies go a long way to offset this, being able to charge a battery to full in around an hour. Huawei look to be setting a new benchmark for charging speed, however, showing off a battery capable of charging to 50% in just five minutes.

Revealed at a Japanese industry conference, Huawei’s fast charging battery is based on current lithium-ion battery technology, rather than some prototype fast charging technologies that use exotic developments such as injecting quantum dots of iron pyrite or switching to aluminum-ion cells. What gives this battery the ability to charge quickly is from atoms of graphite that are bonded to its anode. This means that the battery can be charged more quickly, with no cost to power output or life of the battery.

The battery has been showcased in two formats, a 3000MAh, which is comparable to modern phone batteries and a much smaller 600MAh version. The larger battery reached 48% charge over 5 minutes, while the smaller recharged as much as 68% in just two minutes. The videos do bring to light, however, one key limitation to their fast charging ability: the charger. With the battery needing to be removed from the phone and placed in a (rather bulky) charger, it is clear the product is still in its early stages, with no indication as to when it can be miniaturized enough to be embedded into a device.

I for one welcome a chance to never worry about charging times on my personal devices again. Afterall, who wants to sit tethered to a USB port for hours?