Now, printable batteries that can be integrated into ATM cards, greeting cards

Washington, July 3 (ANI): Have problems remembering that TAN number while doing online transactions? Well, your ATM card could soon tell the code just with a simple touch, all thanks to newly developed printable batteries that could easily be fitted into bankcards.

Developed by a research team led by Prof. Dr. Reinhard Baumann of the Fraunhofer Research Institution for Electronic Nano Systems ENAS in Chemnitz, the printable battery can be produced cost-effectively on a large scale.

"Our goal is to be able to mass produce the batteries at a price of single digit cent range each," said Dr. Andreas Willert, group manager at ENAS.

The characteristics of the battery differ significantly from those of conventional batteries.

The printable version weighs less than one gram on the scales, is not even one millimetre thick, and can therefore be easily integrated into bankcards.

The battery does not contain mercury and is thus environmentally friendly.

Its voltage is 1.5 V, which lies within the normal range, thus by placing several batteries in a row, voltages of 3 V, 4.5 V and 6 V can also be achieved.

The new type of battery is composed of different layers: a zinc anode and a manganese cathode, among others.

Zinc and manganese react with one another and produce electricity, but the anode and the cathode layer dissipate gradually during this chemical process. Therefore, the battery is suitable for applications, which have a limited life span or a limited power requirement, for instance greeting cards.

The batteries are printed using a silk-screen printing method similar to that used for t-shirts and signs.

A kind of rubber lip presses the printing paste through a screen onto the substrate, while a template covers the areas that are not to be printed on.

The process makes it possible to apply comparatively large quantities of printing paste, and the individual layers are slightly thicker than a hair.

The researchers have already produced the batteries on a laboratory scale, and the first products could possibly be finished by the end of this year. (ANI)