Ruthenium Battery Prototype: A Breakthrough or a Secret?

[BatteryNut]

Ruthenium and its ability to absorb hydrogen somehow was made into a battery prototype by some researchers at the University of Tokyo. It was demonstrated to hold a charge better than lithium ion batteries with nearly 96% retention of the incoming charge over a period they claimed reached months. The size of the prototype was equal to that of a standard laptop battery, yet in a small battery bank series powered an electric car motor at full speed for hours. I thought this would have been world news by now, yet there is silence.

Does anyone have more info? Can somebody out there get some more info out of Tokyo if you have access to this technology? Why is it being kept "under wraps"? It did not seem to overheat as the lithium ion storage method does. What would be difficult about producing more than a prototype of a ruthenium based battery?

 

[fedaykin]

What would be difficult about producing more than a prototype of a ruthenium based battery? Cost probably, ruthenium is rare and very useful for many things.

"It was demonstrated to hold a charge better than lithium ion batteries ..." What about energy density?

"its ability to absorb hydrogen somehow" Is it a fuel cell?

Why is it being kept "under wraps"? I doubt that it is.

"a small battery bank series powered an electric car motor at full speed for hours."

With what sort of load?

I'm having some trouble finding a good hit about this (search engines keep giving this page 1st), but I did get you the price of ruthenium, ~ $300 per troy ounce.

 

[fedaykin]

Also, you should note the word 'series.'
That means it's more than just a lab-top battery sized object powering this motor.

 

[Astronuc]

"its ability to absorb hydrogen somehow" Is it a fuel cell?

It's not a fuel cell, but a metal-hydride battery, as in Li-metal hydride.

I'm sure the developers are not ready to release information on it. If one has a really advanced technology, then one usually keeps key characteristics as trade secrets, unless the technology is patented.

 

[Phrak]

Todays Spot Price, Ruthenium: bid=270, ask=305 dollars per troy ounce. A bit pricey.