A research team from the Institute of Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has announced that it has developed a record-breaking 711 Wh/kg (watt-hours per kilogram) lithium rechargeable battery. [The previous record was held by a research team from Dalhousie University in Canada, which created a 575 Wh/kg non-anode pouch battery last year. Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences tested that battery at 711.3 Wh/kg and a volume "energy density" of 1,653.65 Wh/liter, making it the highest energy density lithium battery on record.

Incidentally, Tesla's new 4680 cell has an energy density of 272-296 Wh/kg. This team (via New Atlas) has developed a battery cell with almost double the energy density.

The team has not determined how much energy output can be obtained from this rechargeable battery, nor how fast it degrades or how many thermal problems may occur. The research team admits that much needs to be done to solve issues such as "battery safety and longevity" and that this battery technology is far from "practical."

The rechargeable 10 Ah pouch prototype cell "required extremely sophisticated process techniques such as high-load electrode preparation and lean electrolyte injection," New Atlas notes, making it too costly to reproduce commercially at this time.

Nevertheless, the researchers write in their paper that this ultra-high energy density battery technology can meet China's "urgent need for high-performance power supply technology in special application scenarios such as high-altitude, deep space, and future electro-air applications."

Demand for smaller, higher-density batteries is high, regardless of industry, and it will be interesting to see how far the limits of lithium batteries can be pushed until new power sources like the Element Zero in "Mass Effect" are found. I'll take what I can get, as I only want my gaming laptop to last more than an hour when not plugged in.