Thursday, 11 August 2016

Is Apple working on hollow batteries for Project Titan?

A recent alleged partnership might put Apple at the (hollow) center of some interesting battery tech.
Enough with all the f&%*ing mystery, Apple. Out with it, already. VCG/Getty Images
Improved battery technology has brought us better capacity, but there's so much more to building good EV batteries than making them last a long time. It appears that Apple may be making moves to boost battery tech for its secretive Project Titan, which many believe is a cover for its eventual automotive offering.
MacRumors directed our attention to Korean news site ETNews, which claims that Apple has signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with an unnamed South Korean battery developer, which would presage a partnership of some sort. Apple did not immediately return a request for comment.
The reason for this partnership? The battery company is allegedly working on a type of hollow battery. Having a battery with a hollow center could aid in cooling, or at least prevent a manufacturer from also having to install a bulky, expensive cooling system. ETNews also claims this can help extend capacity.
MacRumors did some digging and did, in fact, come across a Korean battery company called Orange Power, which has a patent application in Europe for a type of hollow battery. But since the company is bound to the NDA, there's no confirmation what company is working with Apple. It's wise to stay quiet when your partner has a strong legal team and about $200 billion in cash at the ready.
If this is true, it shows Apple is taking its automotive project quite seriously. Coming up with a new type of automotive battery that could, theoretically, only exist in Apple's car could give it a strong competitive advantage, above and beyond the name recognition. We're still not sure what Apple has up its sleeve, but one of these days, the company is bound to let slip the dogs of war and tell us all what's up

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