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Wagamaga OP t1_j5yzfpm wrote

Rather than disposing of batteries after two or three years, we could have recyclable batteries that last for up to nine years, by using high-frequency sound waves to remove rust that inhibits battery performance, the team says.

Only 10% of used handheld batteries, including for mobile phones, are collected for recycling in Australia, which is low by international standards. The remaining 90% of batteries go to landfill or are disposed of incorrectly, which causes considerable damage to the environment.

The high cost of recycling lithium and other materials from batteries is a major barrier to these items being reused, but the team’s innovation could help to address this challenge.

The team are working with a nanomaterial called MXene, a class of materials they say promises to be an exciting alternative to lithium for batteries in the future.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-34699-3

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TheGodEmperorOfChaos t1_j601aqk wrote

Gonna be honest here, I'm starting to wonder what cheap ass, peak capitalism, planned obsolescence kind of back end products most people buy for their batteries to last only 2-3 years.

I've had phones with li-ion batteries that still work for 8+ years. The motherboards and protective plates have started to corrode and the plastic has started to degrade and fall off in chunks, but the batteries don't shows any wear and tear. And that was a $350 low/mid tier phone at the time. I'm even thinking of rooting it to install a custom Rom and give it a few more years of life, if I can find a back plate replacement cause the buttons fell off.

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