Matsushita unveils that it is ready to mass-produce a new kind of lithium-ion battery that does not generate excessive heat even if it short circuits (the main culprit of exploding laptops).

The battery uses a nickel-oxide anode instead of a conventional cobalt or nickel-manganese anode to generate more power. It achieves a capacity of 2.9 ampere-hours in an 18650 cylindrical package, which is 15 percent higher than MBI’s conventional lithium-ion battery.

A heat resistance layer (HRL) that is formed on the conventional polyolefin separator enabled the use of nickel oxide as the anode, said an MBI spokesman.

The polyolefin insulator melts when the heat exceeds about 100 degrees centigrade. Thus once a short circuit occurs, the heat melts separators and the short circuit spreads. The HRL is a ceramic-based material with the ability to withstand temperatures of over 1,000 degrees centigrade, protecting the battery cell from damage, according to the spokesman.

Hopefully, this is the beginning of a new age, where exploding laptops caused by overheated batteries are a thing found only in history textbooks. But as expected, this thing will cost more than traditional lithium-ion batteries.