A Busan-based company has been developingΒ J.Flex, an advanced lithium-ion battery that is ultra-thin, flexible, and rechargeable for the past few years now. The company used terms like bend, roll, twist, scrunch, fold, flex to describe the battery. EJ Shin, head of strategic planning at Jenax says:
What weβre doing at Jenax is putting batteries into locations where they couldnβt be before.β She goes on βweβre now interacting with machines on a different level from what we did before,
this was demonstrated atΒ CES 2020Β in Las Vegas.
The devices unveiled byΒ JenaxΒ includes a sensor-lined sportsΒ helmet developed by UK-based firmΒ HP1 TechnologiesΒ for measuring pressure and force of impact, a medical sensor patch designed in France that can be embedded in clothings, for monitoring a wearerβs heart rate, and wearable power banks in form of belts and bracelets for patients who continuously have to be hooked up to medical devices. Shin says:
You donβt want to carry a big, bulky battery on your body all the time. Itβs heavy, uncomfortable, and sticks out from your clothes thatβs when you need very thin, flexible batteries.
Nicholas Kotov, a professor of chemical engineering at the University of Michigan is of the opinion that such kind of batteries may one day power more than just wearables, He identifies unmanned aerial vehicles as one example. A flexible battery installed in the wings or landing gear of such a device could create more space in the body for other components.