Usually when a lone inventor claims that his or her invention will revolutionize how we do, well, anything, we take it with a whole damned shaker of salt. Susumu Suzuki, however, requires just half that dosage, mostly because he’s the respected president of Tokyo-based building-material maker Total System Conductor. Suzuki claims he has invented a AA battery prototype that doesn’t run on the conventional lead-acid chemical reactions, but on a carbon-water reaction.
Using special carbon composites, the batteries themselves hold no charge until water is added, meaning they have a much longer shelf life. In addition, Suzuki claims the batteries last longer and would be cheaper to produce than the standard alkaline variety.
If true, we could be spitting into our Zunes to keep them going. That would be a sight we hope not to see. Hopefully he can sell his invention to Sony, as so far his protoype hasn’t exploded and burned a family alive.
Batteries powered by water [Reuters]