The 21st century has seen plenty of tech upgrades, especially involving the use of batteries. According to the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), battery sales have grown by an average of 33% every two to three years.
Electric vehicles and smartphones are two popular advancements in tech that have benefited from improvements in battery technology. For example, the first electric cars could go roughly 80 miles on a charge. Now, the median for electric cars is over 280 miles on a single charge.
However, this hasn't convinced everyone that the tech is improving.
In a Reddit post in the subreddit community "r/conspiracy," one user presented a theory: "Battery tech is deliberately kept weak to maintain dependency on charging infrastructure."
While some commenters agreed ("Everything is. How do you think they keep the money wheel spinning?"), others pointed out that battery tech has been improving, but there are certain limitations.
"Absolutely false," one wrote. "Our battery tech has been growing in leaps and bounds and stuff is one of the reasons why other tech is advancing so well."
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"Battery storage is getting better all the time, though, and there are breakthroughs on the horizon like solid-state batteries," said another.
Batteries tend to degrade over time. According to Geotab, EV batteries degrade by about 1.8% each year, giving them a finite lifespan. The physical makeup of a battery also prevents it from having an unlimited power supply. Making batteries smaller and lighter would help improve electric vehicles and even make electric planes more commonplace, but the designs are not there currently.
However, batteries are improving. Recent technology has allowed scientists to look inside batteries to study them more carefully. Researchers are also finding ways to improve battery design, reducing reliance on copper and aluminum. New recycling methods have helped make use of old batteries. One study found that recycling smartphone lithium-ion batteries can even help power EVs.
And there could be even greater advancements in battery tech in the next few years, from temperature sensitivity to recycling.
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