
Zinc sponge anode makes Li-ion alternative rechargeable - rbanffy
https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/research-news/zinc-sponge-anode-makes-li-ion-alternative-rechargeable-2017-04/
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biomcgary
Nice to see an article with a link to the underlying academic paper, even if
it is paywalled
([http://science.sciencemag.org/content/356/6336/415](http://science.sciencemag.org/content/356/6336/415)).

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DiabloD3
">100 high-rate cycles at 40% depth of zinc discharge at “an energy content
competitive with lithium-ion batteries”." is the problematic part.

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explorigin
But context helps...

"Nickel-zinc alkaline is seen as a less fire-prone alternative to lithium-ion
cells, which have been banned for some US military applications, according to
NRL."

So they now have a battery that works with a few hundred cycles with density
close to that of Li-Ion that won't explode. It may not replace Li-ion in your
vape stick but still sounds like a win for the emergency lights in the armory
of a battleship (for example).

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user5994461
I'd expect a battleship to stay in operations for a very long time without
spare part and replacements available.

The battery will long be dead by the time they'll need it.

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Tloewald
An aircraft carrier needs resupply with avgas every three days when operating
up-tempo. Warships use up resources like crazy, they're not going off on five
year missions like Star Trek.

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zkms
...avgas? I'd hope it get refilled with JP-5, unless the naval aviation field
has suddenly moved back to piston aircraft when I wasn't looking.

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Tloewald
Indeed, although the article I found in Quora (from a carrier guy) actually
used the term avgas and I didn't parse it :-)

