What do we want for Christmas? More power – and fast

All your Christmases have come together – British scientists have made a breakthrough that means mobile devices and laptops could be recharged in 10 seconds and electric cars could go for maybe 500 miles and recharge in fewer than 5 minutes.

Batteries are a constant source of frustration. They don't last long enough, take too long to recharge and you need chargers/adapters and a power source to do it – which aren’t always available. Along with reliable, ubiquitous Wi-Fi, constant battery power is now often added to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs – the schematic of what humans need to survive and thrive – to describe the developed world’s apparent total reliance on all things electronic.

While ubiquitous Wi-Fi is way off for many of us (including me, just 100 miles out of London, England), there is terrific news on the battery front. According to TelecomTV, British scientists experimented with new materials and found they could build a super-supercapacitor that is between 1,000 and 10,000 times more powerful than today’s supercapacitors.

Why do we care? Because reportedly, the new technology will recharge mobile phones, tablets, laptop computers and other devices in a few seconds – and greatly extend the range of travel for electric vehicles – up to 450 miles versus a max of 70 now. Even better, recharging the vehicle would take as long as it now does to fill a car with petrol at a service station. In the developed world at least, this is likely to be viewed as the same kind of step forward as having running water instead of having to carry every single drop you need – and water is jolly heavy stuff.

This is great news, but let's get a grip. First, there is no comparison between running out of juice for your smartphone (except in extreme circs) and not having access to clean running water. Second, very many millions of people haven't got access to clean, running water, much less a reliable power source, or a smart phone.

Which brings us to my third thing. The digital world comprises ecosystems and platforms, which by their very natures require cooperation and collaboration. They are the only way to succeed commercially – and it is most heartening to reflect that digitization holds out great economic and social promise for people in developing economies.

And just to reinforce the point, this seemingly miraculous development of the super supercapacitor – just imagine the implications for the Internet of Things and so much else! – came about through the collective genius and effort of scientists at Augmented Optics Ltd (part of Supercapacitor Materials Ltd.), and the universities of Surrey and Bristol.

We salute you – now please can you get it to the global market, fast as you like?