Most big batteries (like the batteries in laptops and tools and phones) are actually just a bunch of smaller battery cells wired together.
It would be very useful, and a lot less wasteful, if there were a set of standard battery cell configurations that rechargeable batteries could be built out of, and batteries were built so that you could swap out bad cells.
- You’d be able to replace only the cells that went bad in a given battery or device, not have to waste the whole piece, or chuck it in a landfill.
- It would probably make designing things easier.
- It would mean more standard parts could be used, which would make things easier to repair
- Standard parts can be made in higher volume, which means lower pricing
- Chargers would be more likely to work with multiple devices
Unfortunately, all of this would mean that companies would sell fewer proprietary things over and over, and consumers would have to learn how to do stuff, so it’s probably not going to happen.
But this is still a cool example of how to make the idea work despite everyone’s best attempts to the contrary. (link via Hack a Day)