NOVEMBER 201719BETTER BATTERIES NEEDED TO POWER THE INTERNET OF THINGSBy Todd Peters, CEO, BrightVoltFinally, the Internet of Things (IoT) is starting to mature, having a direct, positive impact on our homes, our cars, our world and even our own bodies. Under the umbrella of IoT, connected devices transmit useful, real-time information that empowers businesses to use that action-able data to make informed decisions, creating a sustainable and attractive value chain. And this is only the beginning, as components like batteries and mi-crocontrollers become more efficient, smaller devices are able to do more work. The industry is exploding with a fantastic array of products and applications ranging from vast sensor networks to wearable and medical patches. The key to addressing this massive market and its need for energy is developing customized power sources that are purpose-built and optimized for specific applications. So What's the Problem?The challenge is, battery technology has not kept pace with the safety and product requirements of next generation applications. Take, for example, the lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries used to pow-er computers, smartphones and entertainment items like hover boards. Countless reports have surfaced about the seemingly spontaneous combustion of these devices due to faulty Li-ion batteries. The problem may not be with the devices themselves but with the type of battery used to power them.Headquartered in Washington, BrightVolt is the world's leader in the design, development and scale manufacturing of ultra-thin film batteries. Their patented Lithium Polymer design allows their batteries to be the thinnest, most flexible and yet maintain the highest energy density to power a wide variety of IoT devices.Lithium is a highly volatile, flammable, and reactive substance that gets pressurized inside the battery. If the heat that naturally occurs during battery charging is not controlled properly, it can cause the compounds inside the battery to burst into flames or even explode. These compounds can become similarly unstable if the battery cell gets punctured. As more such incidents grab headlines, an increasing number of vendors and consumers are discovering the dangers of using Li-ion batteries.It's Time for New IoT Energy SourcesLast year, research firm Gartner projected that 6.4 billion connected things will be in use worldwide in 2016, up by 30 percent from 2015. And the CEO INSIGHTS
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