We lead an increasingly mobile and connected lifestyle. And the one element that powers this mobility is batteries. You could have the best equipment in the world, but if your batteries are not working because they have run out of charge, then everything grinds to a halt.
You only need to watch the myriad of Zombie Apocalypse box sets produced in every language on streaming services globally to understand how important those batteries are in maintaining some level of normal ‘life.’ Finding a battery source will literally save lives and the world.
So in our pre-Apocalyptic world, should we be allowing ourselves to become so reliant on rechargeable battery packs? Let’s consider for a moment why they are so important to us.
Contribution to reducing the environmental impact of batteries
Batteries have long since impacted environmental damage. Because they contain toxic chemicals, if not disposed of correctly, they can leak into the soil, causing toxicity in local areas and water supplies.
The sheer fact is that rechargeable batteries can be used again and again and are kept out of the landfill. In fact, they have 28 times less impact on global warming, 30 times less impact on air pollution, and 12 times less impact on water pollution. In addition to this, they consume up to 23 times less non-renewable natural resources than single-use disposable batteries.
Longer life cycles
Battery technology has advanced to such a degree that these days batteries are much more efficient and significantly longer lasting than they have ever been. Often devices need to be used for long periods of time in often remote locations, and reliance on their functionality can, at best, have significant cost implications and, at worst, be the difference between life and death.
An ideal scenario for many businesses that are reliant on battery technology is to be confident about the long-term functionality of a device during the working period, with a fast and efficient recharging period during downtimes.
Increased Portability
Anyone who remembers the original brick-sized mobile telephones of the nineties will have a tangible experience of how battery technology has changed and improved when you consider the power that drives their phones has shrunk to the size of something that can be lost in the corner of your pocket.
This has also driven the rise in wearable technology – the most ‘portable’ kind of technology we currently have. Whether for consumer leisurewear in sports, outdoor activities, and travel or more commercial applications in areas such as agribusiness and health and safety. The size and minimal weight of many different battery designs today don’t just power your smartphone. They can also tack the eating habits of cattle herds grazing in remote farms.
Increased versatility
And that is also why rechargeable batteries are so revolutionary – it has caused an explosion in innovation and creativity in terms of inventing and developing devices that have solutions to practically every potential problem there could possibly be in this world. From the tiniest of hearing aids to the largest of electric vehicles, battery technology is at a point at the moment whereby the only barriers to the future are in our own imagination – and for that, there is no artificial intelligence.
One thing is for sure, and that is that we can never go backward in battery technology. The next biggest challenge is to improve the natural resources required to make the batteries and make them as long-lasting and recyclable as possible to ensure that their impact on our environment continues to reduce as much as possible.
