Safer laptop batteries now a big production

Thursday, December 28, 2006

In many cases laptop batteries have a tendency to overheat and sometimes even catch fire which can be extremely dangerous. As laptops become more powerful the need for power supply increases. This year Dell recalled 4.1 million laptop batteries due to overheating and fire complaints by customers. It is obvious that this issue is one that needs to be resolved immediately and that's exactly what Matsushita, a Japanese firm, plans to do.

Matsushita announced they will be mass producing a heatproof battery for laptops at a rate of five million units each month, rather than 100,000 units they have been producing each month since April and up until now. The heat resistant layer they have added to their lithium ion batteries will surely help prevent further incidents of overheating. The same technology is also being integrated into more mobile phones.

This issue adds pressure to all manufacturers to develop safer batteries for their products. Between 2003 and 2005 their have been 339 similar cases of overheating and fires reported based on claims by a reliable Safety Commission source in the US.