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I know these are currently out of fashion but I'm still thankful they exist.
Let's remind ourselves of devices that use(d) these standardized batteries:
- Toys
- Digital cameras
- Torches
- Gadgets like fans
- Wireless keyboards
- TV remotes
Thanks to having a standardized system of batteries,
- You can use the same battery across several devices. This is a no brainer but it's very practical.
- Batteries can charge quicker thanks to being put in a dedicated charger and not being limited by USB cables. (But yes I concede that USB has been updated for faster charging over the years)
- Devices don't have down time when their battery is charging. To charge, the battery is removed from the device and can immediately be replaced with a fresh one.
- You'll never have to trash a device due to an expired battery. Just buy a replacement. And building on this...
- Any improvements in future battery technology can be retro-fitted into your existing devices. And there is a high incentive for future improvement, because...
- An accessible (due to easy replacement) and large (due to many devices) battery market is very attractive to competition.
If you look at the pros I listed, they all happen to be things that would be very useful for electric cars. So I think it would aid the adoption of electric cars if their batteries were standardized too.
Well, the rechargeable batteries that are least likely to blow up in your face are the ones with the old-style NiMH (nickel metal hydride) chemistry that they use in rechargeable AAs and such. They have lower energy density than the lithium chemistries, so there's less there to explode. They're pretty inert unless you stuff them into a charger that doesn't work properly—a busted charger can set just about any battery on fire. (Why is the NiMH chemistry still used for AAs? Because the normal voltage of a single NiMH cell falls nicely in the middle of the voltage discharge curve of a single alkaline cell. Lithium chemistries don't have that property.)