Researchers Ibrahim Abou Hamad from Mississippi State University and coauthors have engineered a new charging method that relies on new developments in molecular dynamics simulations. The actual study is highly technical in nature, but it really boils down to this: they have discovered a way to significantly reduce the charging time of Li-ion batteries, which are widely used in everything from laptops to electric cars. For a more techy perspective, we’re told that they have simulated the lithium-ion battery charging process by “simulating the intercalation of lithium ions into the battery’s graphite anode,” and in their testing, they found that “an additional oscillating electric field can lower this energy barrier, enabling lithium ions to intercalate more quickly into the anode.”

The team hopes to continue investigating the findings, and they’ll be altering the frequency of the oscillating field in order to judge the effect on charging time. In a best case scenario, this could also provide a boost in battery power densities.