This Mini Solid-State Battery Powers IoT Sensors, Devices

Powering sensors and other small and low-power electronic components to enable the Internet of Things (IoT) is a top focus of researchers. While many are looking to smaller-form-factor lithium-ion battery designs for solutions, scientists at a London-based company have come up with another solution they think may work even better: a miniature solid-state battery.

Ilika PLC has unveiled the Stereax M250 solid-state battery, which the company said addresses the “fit and forget” design of power sources for IoT components like sensors and beacons by providing always-on, self-charging, and efficient energy for IoT products that don’t need maintenance or replacing, said Denis Pasero, Stereax product manager at Ilika.

Ilika, a materials and solid-state battery innovations company, has designed a miniature solid-state battery called the Stereax M250 aimed at the IoT market.
(Source: Ilika PLC)

“Traditional solutions include cabling which is often restrictive and costly particularly if you want to install a system in an old house or to make it a smart home,” he told Design News. “Using primary batteries can offer a cheap option but need changing regularly. Rechargeable coin cell or supercapacitors are another solution but they are bulky, can have a risk of leakage, and are not so good at efficiently storing the current picked by energy harvesters.”

Ilika has been inventing new materials for energy and electronics markets for more than a decade, serving the automotive, aeronautical, and electronic components sectors with customers including Rolls Royce and Toyota.

With up to 15 billion sensors already connected to the Internet -- on the way to a possible 1 trillion by 2020, if the industry has its way -- there are a number of challenges to providing energy sources for these components, which the company aims to meet with its solid-state battery innovations. Those challenges include keeping costs low, eliminating the use of wiring or other complex infrastructure, the need for a small form factor, and eliminating maintenance or replacement issues, among others.

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The Stereax M250 helps solve these issues by offering a number of benefits over current lithium-ion batteries like CR2032 coin cells that are typically used to power small form-factor devices and components, according to Ilika. M250 batteries can last up to 10 years, which is four times the lifespan of coin cells. Moreover, they represent 50% of the volume for the same power and 1/10th of the leakage current as compared to CR2032 cells, the company said.

Ilika’s new battery also has benefits over other solid-state solutions. Made using patented materials and processes from Ilika, they offer up to 40% improvement on current solid-state solutions and can function at increased temperature ranges over 100C (212F), 30C (86F) higher than existing solid-state products. Moreover, the Stereax M250 does not contain any free lithium, which makes them more moisture-resistant, Pasero said.

Ilika achieves these benefits in the development of the battery, which use the technique of evaporation of materials onto supports to make micrometer range thick films that are solid, Pasero said. “No unsafe liquid or polymer is used that could reduce their lifespan,” he said. “Films are dense and efficiently use the materials for high power and energy.”

Like other solid-state batteries, the Stereax M250 can be used in conjunction with all the current energy-harvesting technologies, according to Ilika.

The company demonstrated the capability of its first Stereax battery in its perpetual beacon for temperature sensing at IDTechEX conference in Berlin in April. The technology is ready to deploy now with a model to license technology to new entrants, battery manufacturers, OEMs in electronics, and others, Pasero said.

Learn more at Atlantic Design & Manufacturing June 14-16, in New York.

Elizabeth Montalbano is a freelance writer who has written about technology and culture for more than 15 years. She has lived and worked as a professional journalist in Phoenix, San Francisco, and New York City. In her free time she enjoys surfing, traveling, music, yoga, and cooking. She currently resides in a village on the southwest coast of Portugal.