China shows off ‘world’s first graphene battery’ that charges in 15 minutes

Promising a recharge time of just 13 to 15 minutes, a Chinese company has shown what state news agency Xinhua calls the “world’s first graphene battery.” It charges 10 to 20 times faster than the lithium-ion battery that’s probably in your phone or laptop.

It’s capable of going through 3,500 charging cycles.

Graphene is a relatively newly discovered form of carbon that’s 200 times stronger and six times lighter than steel. It’s predicted to radically change battery tech by opening up the possibilities of bendable or super-lightweight batteries that could make our gadgets a lot slimmer than they are now. And because graphene batteries discharge power faster than current technology, they’ll offer up a lot more power to electric vehicles, huge drones, and in lots of other applications.

The graphene battery, shown off Friday at an event in Beijing, also beats li-ion batteries in longevity, capable of going through 3,500 charging cycles, according to the presentation by Dongxu Optoelectronics chairman Li Zhaoting.

Dongxu is a 24-year-old battery and screens manufacturer valued at just over US$5 billion on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

Electric dreams

But all of that tech is a long way off for now – and the execs at Dongxu didn’t offer up any clue of when its little graphene battery pack would make its way into the mainstream. Until your iPhone or Prius has graphene tech, it’s all a load of promises and hype that’s difficult to evaluate.

The event in Beijing was attended by K2 Energy, a Nevada-based specialist in rechargable batteries, with CEO Johnnie Stoker signing a partnership deal to use the technology in the future.

The graphene battery pack at the event – dubbed G-King – packs 4,800 mAh in power, which is a bit more than the 3,000-odd mAh that’s now standard in large-screen Android phones.