Three-dimensional battery architectures

One of the lessons learned in the 1990s was that enormous need for high-performance portable power is not diminishing. Consumer electronics continues to be a vibrant, worldwide market force, leading to ever-increasing demands for portable power. The inability of lithium ion batteries to fully satisfy consumer electronics has been one of the principal motivations for the significant rise in fuel-cell research and developments. As the dimensions of devices continue to shrink, the question arises as to how power sources of comparable scale will be fabricated. Three-dimensional batteries offer a different approach to the portable power field. Currently, the battery materials field is already beginning to explore 3-D concepts. Hierarchical designs based on nanostructured materials, including the deliberate management of void space, have been organized into larger macroscopic structures and the first results are impressive, with larger gravimetric capacities for lithium and higher discharge rates.