| Search for the Super Battery | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover | |
| Genre | Documentary film |
| Written by | Daniel McCabe |
| Directed by | Daniel McCabe |
| Starring | David Pogue |
| Narrated by | Jay O. Sanders |
| Theme music composer | APM |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Producer | Daniel McCabe |
| Cinematography | Stephen McCarthy |
| Editor | Daniel McCabe |
| Running time | 53 minutes |
| Production companies | ANOVA production byMiles O’Brien Productions, LLC, forWGBH Boston. |
| Original release | |
| Network | PBS |
| Release | February 1, 2017 (2017-02-01) |
Search for the Super Battery: Discover the Powerful World of Batteries is a 2017 American documentary film aboutenergy storage and how it may help provide anenvironmentally friendly, or green, future.[1][2][3] The basic mechanism ofbatteries, includinglithium-ion types, is described. The benefits and limitations of various batteries are also presented. Details of seeking a much safer,[4] more powerful, longer-lasting and less expensive battery, a so-called "super battery", is discussed. The broad importance of energy storage devices, in mobile phones andautomobiles, and in the overallelectric grid system of the United States, is examined in detail.[1][2]
The documentary film isnarrated byJay O. Sanders and includes the following participants (alphabetized by last name):
According to David Templeton of thePittsburgh Post-Gazette, the program "walks the viewer through the science of howbatteries work, returning to that theme time and again to explain variations in design to create cheaper, safer, longer-lasting batteries andenergy-storage systems."[5] Notable discoveries, featured in the program, Templeton reports, are a safe battery "made withsaltwaterelectrolytes", as well as a safe battery "made of plastics that can uselithium metal rather than a traditionallithium ion to produce longer-lasting, safe power."[5] Vicky Hallet of theWashington Post writes thatlithium-ion batteries "gained widespread popularity because of their ability to pack a lot of energy into a lightweight package." However, such batteries – due to thethermal runaway properties of the varieties of lithium-content rechargeable cells that uselithium cobalt oxide in their positive electrodes – can potentially burst into flames. The program shows several possible ways to make batteries safer.[6] Hallet reports that the program presents an important notion: "Batteries are evolving to do more, and do it safely. It’s powerful stuff."[6]
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