Printable battery is less than 1mm thick
A printable battery developed by the Fraunhofer Institute is being promoted as a way of powering devices such as bank cards or greeting cards.
Weighing less than 1g and less than 1mm thick, the mercury free battery generates 1.5 V. It is composed of different layers, with a zinc anode and a manganese cathode. Because zinc and manganese react with one another, the anode and cathode layer dissipate gradually, making the battery suitable for applications with a limited life span or limited power requirements.
The battery has been developed by a research team led by Prof Dr Reinhard Baumann of the Fraunhofer Research Institution for Electronic Nano Systems ENAS in Chemnitz. "Our goal is to be able to mass produce the batteries at a price of single digit cent range each," states Dr Andreas Willert, group manager at ENAS.
