WORLD
New Japanese battery only needs water to power up smartphones in a disaster
A key item in these kits is usually batteries, and a Japanese company’s recent announcement about a new kind of battery is expected to completely change the way we prepare for disasters. Only needing to be filled with water, the “Mg Box” battery can be used to charge smartphones, and the invention has made the Japanese company’s stock skyrocket as investors rush to back the game-changing technology.
Furukawa Battery’s Mg Box is activated with filled with two liters of fresh water, seawater or even dirty water. It will generate electricity for about five days and can charge a smartphone up to 30 times. The box itself contains magnesium, which, when combined with water and the surrounding air, creates the charge to power up a phone when disaster strikes.
Furukawa announced last month that it will begin selling the battery for around 10,000 yen (US$93) beginning in mid-December. Since that announcement, the company’s stock has risen and almost doubled in just four days from the announcement day price of 740 yen. As of September 12, the stock price was sitting at 1,149 yen.
Although a 10,000-yen disposable battery may make some consumers wary, the potential for a water-based battery has excited the business world as well as some local governments in Japan in Northeastern Japan who very much remember the days and months spent without power after the 2011 disaster. A mayor in hard-hit Fukushima Prefecture said that the battery could “ease people’s minds” after a disaster if they are still able to communicate with a fully charged phone. And considering the issues a certain major electric company had with its power during that difficult time, this innovative battery could definitely come in handy in disaster zones.
