On a fan community page on Chinese social media platform Weibo, hundreds of users have posted comments and pictures, some covered in little red hearts, to express their admiration for a star they affectionately call Kun Kun. “Kun Kun flies bravely, iKun will always follow him; Kun Kun never gets old, and will remain a blue-chip till the end,” some users wrote alongside the picture. “Kun Kun,” whose full name is Zhang Kun, is neither a pop star nor actor. Instead, he is one of China’s most prominent fund managers who oversees around 120 billion yuan ($18.6 billion) in assets at E Fund Management, an established Chinese asset management firm. Zhang’s followers, who label themselves “iKun,” (“i” is a homophone for the Chinese word love), have also created accounts on Weibo posing as his “global fan clubs.” “Kun Kun, I would like to accompany you for many, many years,” a follower wrote. “Let’s witness both the bull and bear markets, but still return with young hearts.”
Graphene batteries could land faster than expected in smartphones. The American firm Real Graphene announces that it is preparing to market the technology to smartphone manufacturers. Samples would even be tested by manufacturers – whose names have not been released. The firm already sells an external graphene battery.
The approach adopted by Real Graphene is to replace the graphite electrode with an electrode covered with a thin layer of graphene and to modify the composition of the electrolyte. The CEO of the company Samuel Gong, explains that a 3000mAh cell using their technology charges from 0 to 100% in 20 minutes, against 90 minutes on average with a conventional lithium battery.
Graphene batteries: Really fast charging, longer life and safety
This battery has a record longevity. It can undergo up to 1500 charge cycles, against between 300 and 500 for current batteries. At equal charge power, these batteries also generate less heat than lithium batteries. Finally, the approach chosen by Real Graphene has another major advantage. Manufacturers of Li-Ion batteries will not need to change equipment to produce it.
Graphene remains an expensive and complex material to produce. A sheet of this material costs $25 and according to Digital Trends, a kilo of graphene was estimated at more than $300,000 a few years ago. Very little material is needed in each battery, but using graphene should necessarily increase the price of these batteries over the others. The price of the component could thus climb by 30% according to estimates.
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