Panasonic develops ‘safer’ laptop battery

Panasonic has developed a ‘safer’ lithium ion battery to help laptop makers avoid the type of fire hazards faced by Dell, Apple and others this year.

Dell had to recall over four million laptop batteries this year, and another two million-plus were recalled by Apple, Toshiba and HP, among others.

The batteries in question were made by Sony.

Panasonic’s new battery is designed to avoid similar problems, and can be used in laptops and other electronic devices.

Panasonic said it has developed a heat-resistant layer made of insulating metal oxide. This can replace the polyolefin lining often used to separate cells within the battery pack.

If a short circuit were to occur, Panasonic says the new protective layer would prevent the battery from overheating and possibly bursting into flames.

The firm’s Matsushita battery unit is now ready to go into production with the new material.

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