IBM Charging Ahead for 500-mile Battery

As we come to terms with our dirty lifestyles -- eating food shipped thousands of miles, leaving the computer on all day and driving our internal combustion engine vehicles -- the pressure to create better, more highly efficient alternatives has intensified exponentially. Electric vehicles (which, let's not forget, use energy created mainly from coal and natural gas -- both fossil fuels) hold most of the promise for a cleaner ride, but battery technology remains the elusive sticking point.

IBM is now getting into the action with its "Battery 500 Project," an effort to push EV batteries to the point where they can hold a charge for 500 miles. Most of today's EV batteries can carry a car only about 100 miles on a single charge, according to a blog post by EcoGeek.

But why Big Blue?

Similar to Google's foray into electric vehicle technology (software, to be specific), IBM also believes it has an important role to play in the evolving world of electric cars. I'm embarrassed to say that the details sailed clear over my head, but so-called "lithium air" battery technology (a lithium-ion battery is pictured above) requires exposure of the lithium anode to specific amounts of oxygen to create the critical, energy-creating reaction (according to the EcoGeek blog):

"And because oxygen is available on demand, the only limiting factor is how much contact the battery can make with their air. That's where IBM's expertise comes in, they want to take their high-tech, nano-scale semiconductor manufacturing experience and use it to dramatically increase the surface area of the anode."

And if IBM is able to pull one out of its hat -- and ultimately lead the next-generation lithium air battery market -- it might finally get sweet revenge on its one-time nemesis, the faltering giant of Redmond, Microsoft. However, I'm certain that Microsoft has an EV ace or two up its sleeve as well.

Photo courtesy of Claus Ableiter, via Wikimedia Commons