Under pressure from consumers, in search of more durable smartphones, tech giants are increasing initiatives to improve battery performance, which is considered largely perfectible. A challenge for the sector, also called upon to reduce its environmental footprint.
Better autonomy, faster recharging, less dependence on strategic metals… “All manufacturers are looking to have more efficient batteries. […] We feel that it is a sector that is lagging behind, that we must move forward,” summarizes Thomas Husson, analyst at Forrester, to AFP.
Since the appearance of the first smartphones in the 2000s, significant progress has been made, particularly thanks to fast charging technologies. Advances widely highlighted by manufacturers at the Mobile World Show (MWC), which opened Monday in Barcelona.
But there is still a strong margin for progress, the capacity of the batteries – which for the most part have a one-day autonomy and a lifespan of a few years – remaining one of the black points of smartphones, subject to usage always more intense.
The proliferation of “energy-intensive applications” is increasing the demand “for high-capacity batteries”, underlines the Allied Market Research firm. This, in turn, stimulates the race for innovation between the main manufacturers, such as Samsung, LG Chem and Panasonic, he adds.
Sulfur, carbon, graphene…
Currently, most phones use lithium-ion batteries. The latter, operating with electrodes immersed in a liquid called electrolyte, make it possible to concentrate a lot of energy in a small space but consume rare metals and degrade over time.
To get around this problem, manufacturers have been interested for several years in alternative technologies, such as lithium-sulfur, lithium-carbon or graphene, with the hope of extending the lifespan of devices and reducing their dependence. to critical materials.
The Chinese Honor has thus developed carbon silicon batteries and chips regulating current according to needs for its Magic 6 phone, presented in Barcelona. A development made necessary by the rise of energy-intensive “AI-based functionalities”, underlined its CEO George Zhao.
The Korean Samsung, present in force at the MWC, is working on a battery prototype using a solid electrolyte, with an energy density according to it that is “higher” and free from any “risk of explosion”. According to Korean media, its marketing could begin in 2027.
Even more surprising: a Chinese start-up, Betavolt Technology, announced in early January that it had developed a model of “atomic energy” mini-battery, capable of supplying electricity to phones “for 50 years” without the need for to be recharged.
These batteries, using the energy released during the disintegration of nickel-63, “have entered the testing phase with a view to large-scale production,” underlines the Beijing-based company in a press release, which does not give details. date however for their marketing.
“High expectations”
For manufacturers, who offer increasingly similar phone models, this race for innovation is “an opportunity to stand out”, especially since consumers have “strong expectations” regarding batteries, observes Thomas Husson .
This progress, moreover, is sometimes required by the legislator: in the European Union, Parliament voted last year for a directive requiring manufacturers to equip their devices with batteries comprising a minimum level of materials by 2027. from recycling.
According to Allied Market Research, the global battery market is expected to grow significantly in this context, reaching $38.6 billion in 2030 compared to $21.2 billion in 2020. Enough to whet the appetite of the smartphone giants, who tended to until now to outsource this activity.
According to the Korean newspaper ET Newsthe American Apple is thus working on its own battery technology, with the objective of equipping its devices with it by 2025. A fundamental trend among manufacturers, wishing to reduce their dependence on suppliers.
Will these efforts ultimately pay off? “We have never invested so much money in batteries” but “there is not yet any sign of a major technological breakthrough”, judges Ben Wood, of the CCS Insight firm. All manufacturers “are working on this so, at some point, new technologies will come out”, judges Thomas Husson for his part.