As the creator of Charged Outdoors, it would be amiss if I didn’t take a moment and write a post that offers recognition to the innovations that have led to the modern day battery. The lithium-ion battery and its predecessors have forged a path into the new world that will forever change our lives. In fact, if it weren’t for the scientist and their designs that ultimately lead to the modern battery there would be no reason for me to create Charged Outdoors.
I don’t want to go too deep into the history because we all know what a battery is and generally how it works and my goal is not to bore you with decades of details. Rather I want to highlight why this power source is the key to our future and why I think recreational vehicles and products will greatly benefit from this technology.
The very first battery was invented in 1800 by a scientist named Volta and it resembled almost nothing of the footprint of what a battery is today. Many of those initial batteries were open baths containing hazardous chemicals and crude wiring that outside of a lab simply had no practical use. Since then many variations of batteries were created and tested all with the logic of delivering transportable power.
Fast forward to 1859 and the first lead battery was invented by a scientist by the name of Plante. This was a huge innovation as this design was the first of its kind to allow recharging of the cells. To this day, the principal technology invented by Plante is still used in more modern form. The major complaint related to this design is in the form of internal lead plates necessary to create the chemical reactions resulting in captured and stored energy. This battery design is still used today in applications in which weight is not a considerable factor.
Shortly thereafter came various other forms of batteries that included: nickel-cadmium, alkaline, and nickel-metal hydride that all required some form of caustic solvents to create a chemical reaction resulting in the formation of energy.
In the 1980’s several key developments took place by scientist that eventually led to the creation of a lithium-ion battery. In 1991 Sony Corporation commercialized the first lithium-ion battery that revolutionized the world of portable power. No longer was it necessary to use liquid solvents to generate the energy, but rather a solid polymer composite would become the design of choice by the manufacturers of batteries.
The remarkable attributes of this design resulted in incredibly light weight and highly flexible configurations that lead to a myriad of applications. The smartphones to the cars we drive are all beneficiaries of the technology created by lithium-ion batteries.
So how does this lead into Charged Outdoors you ask….well, all the products ranging from recreational vehicles to headlights to trolling motors are all the result of this battery technology. Many of these products simply would not exist because predecessors forms of the modern battery were not as capable of delivering the performance that would arguably replace tethered electric equipment or combustion engine alternatives.
This discussion all trickles down to one key point…..performance. Lithium-ion batteries coupled with today’s electric motors have resulted in the most insane performance stats ever predicted. When did you ever think a 4 door sedan would out perform a Lamborghini off the line….just Google “Tesla vs. Supercar” and you will find multiple YouTube video’s demonstrating this ad nauseam.
We are only beginning to scratch the surface as there are so many automotive and commercial fleets that are going electric. I would also point out that Indy cars are going electric. Why is this important….well all these industries represent massive capital and access to brilliant minds that will result in further innovations all of which rely on battery power. All this technology will trickle down into the recreation market and we will see motorcylces, ATVs, UTVs, watercraft and ancillary products become reality.
This is why I created Charged Outdoors….I have a passion for the outdoors and these products will soon be my new reality.