Virtual reality and artificial intelligence are not the only technologies to get excited aboutIT IS more than two-and-a-half centuries since Benjamin Franklin grouped a number of electrically charged Leyden jars together and, using a military term, called them a “battery”. It is 25 years since Sony released a commercial version of the rechargeable lithium-ion battery, which now sits snugly in countless smartphones, laptops and other devices. In an era of robots and drones, artificial intelligence and virtual reality, the lithium-ion battery lacks futuristic glamour. Its deficiencies are quotidian and clear: witness the scrum of people around charging stations at airports. Yet few areas of technology promise as great an impact in as short a time.一百五十多年前，本杰明·富兰克林将带电的莱顿瓶聚集在一起，并将它们命名为“电池”。二十五年前，索尼公司（Sony）推出一款可充电的商用锂电池，如今这种电池被广泛应用于智能手机、笔记本电脑和其他电子设备。在机器人、无人机、人工智能和虚拟现实时代，锂电池的发展前景并没有多大的吸引力。其缺点显而易见：在机场充电室，我们总能看到有一群人在充电。但没有几个技术领域能像锂电池一样在短时间内产生如此之大的影响。Increasingly, lithium-ion batteries are vaulting out of pockets into power tools, vehicles, homes and even power stations. Carmakers in America, China and Japan are rushing to secure supplies of lithium to prepare for a more electric future (see article). Such is the scramble, that the metal, used in small quantities in each battery cell, today is one of the world’s only hot commodities. The price of lithium carbonate imported to China more than doubled in the last two months of 2015.锂电池的应用逐渐从人们口袋里的电子设备扩展到电动工具、交通工具、家用设备甚至是充电站领域。美国、中国和日本的汽车制造商抢占锂电池供应市场，为未来的电力时代做准备。这种在每块电池里只占一小部分的金属引来了激烈的竞争，如今成还成了世界上最热门的商品之一。中国进口碳酸锂的价格在2015年最后两个月上涨逾两倍。Until now, the limits on the use of batteries have been storage capacity, cost and recharging times. But large-scale production is overcoming these hurdles. The head-turner at this week’s Detroit motor show was not a car but a battery—that of the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt, which General Motors’ boss, Mary Barra, said had “cracked the code” of combining long range with an affordable price. Tesla, an electric-car maker, is promising to start mass production of lithium-ion batteries this year in a giant “gigafactory” in Nevada. BYD, a Chinese rival, is hot on its heels. In ten months last year Chinese firms sold more electric vehicles than Tesla has since 2008. A further emphasis on batteries is a big part of China’s 2016-20 five-year plan.如今，电池应用的局限在于存储容量、成本和充电时间。但大规模生产正逐步打破这些限制。在本周举办的底特律汽车站上，最引人瞩目并非汽车而是一块电池。这种电池名为2017款Chevrolet Bolt，通用汽车公司的老板玛丽·巴拉（Mary Barra）表示，这种电池“破译了密码”，集长续航和低价格于一身。电动汽车制造商特斯拉（Tesla）承诺将于今年启动内华达州的“千兆工厂”（gigafactory），进行大规模锂电池生产。中国电动汽车制造商比亚迪（BYD）紧随其后。在去年的十个月内，中国企业卖出的电动汽车比特斯拉还要多，这一局面从2008年就开始了。 大力发展电池产业是中国即将在2016年制定的“五年计划”中的重头戏。Electric cars are not the only source of demand. Batteries are also playing an increasingly important role in providing cleaner power on and off electricity grids. In South Africa, Australia, Germany and America, Tesla this year will start selling a $3,000 Powerwall for homeowners to store the solar energy from their roofs. Utilities are going even further. They are installing millions of lithium-ion battery cells into power plants to regulate supply at times of peak demand, and when it fluctuates because of intermittent wind and solar energy. California has ordered its electricity firms to offer 1.3 gigawatts (GW) of non-hydroelectric storage capacity within five years. In 2016 a solar plant equipped with batteries will be installed in Hawaii, promising power after sunset at prices cheaper than diesel.
并非只有电动汽车需要用电池。电池在提供清洁能源和电网供电方面也发挥着越来越重要的作用。特斯拉今年将在南非、澳大利亚、德国和美国出售售价为3000美元的家庭电池能量墙（Powerwall），该产品能储存屋顶上的太阳能。公共事业单位在这一领域则走的更远。它们在发电厂安装了几百万块太阳能电池板，在用电高峰时调控电力供应，避免因风力或太阳能不足导致供电波动。加利福尼亚州已要求电力公司在未来五年内提供1.3兆瓦非水电电能。全美发电量为1000多兆瓦电力，但这一数字是目前全球电池电网发电量（0.5兆瓦）的两倍多。2016年，夏威夷将建设配备电池的太阳能发电厂，在日落后以低于柴油发电的价格供电。There is still a long way to go. As yet lithium-ion batteries do not have the capacity to store grid-scale power for more than a few hours. Costs are still too high; and the recent price spike in lithium will encourage researchers beavering away on other types of battery. Yet the more cells that are made, the more understanding and performance improve. Rising demand and higher prices will eventually also generate more lithium supply. Increasingly, lithium is becoming to batteries what silicon is to semiconductors—prevalent, even among worthy alternatives. In one form or another, the lithium-ion battery is the technology of our time.电池行业还有很长的路要走。目前锂电池还无法在几个小时之内储存电网规模的电能。成本依然居高不下，最近锂价上涨会促使研究人员努力研制其他类型的电池。太阳能电池板生产的越多，人们就越了解它，其性能也会得以提升。需求和价格上涨最终将促进锂的生产供应。电池中的锂会像半导体中的硅一样，即使有更合适的替代品，锂也会逐渐得到普及。无论以何种形式存在，锂电池都是属于我们这个时代的先进技术。
