There's a lot to love about the conventional lithium-ion batteries we use in our gadgets and electric cars, but they still pose a fire hazard because of the flammable liquid electrolyte inside.
Solid-state batteries have an edge over them, thanks to the use of a (mostly) solid electrolyte sandwiched between the cathode and anode.
Hardware upstart BMX is taking a stab at packing this tech into a power bank that can juice up your phone anywhere you go, without the chance of self-combusting. With a solid state battery, you don't have to worry about thermal runaway incidents that can cause it to swell, explode, or catch fire.
BMX says its SolidSafe power bank is heat, shock, and fire resistant. Heck, in a video by 9to5Mac, you can see it survive having a nail hammered into it and even have a corner cut off, and continue to charge as normal.
That should take a load off the shoulders of frequent flyers and people who spend a lot of time beyond the reach of power outlets with their gadgets.
The SolidSafe series includes three power banks with the same tech at their core, along with aluminum builds, MagSafe support to snap onto your iPhone, 15-W wireless charging, 30-W wired output that will recharge an iPhone 16 Pro to 50% in half an hour, and color LCD displays.
There's a 5,000mAh version with a single USB-C port that's 11.5-mm (0.45-in) thick and weighs 4.8 oz (137 g), a 10,000-mAh version with two ports coming in at 18.9 mm (0.74 in) and 7.4 oz (209 g), and also a 10,000-mAh version with a microSD card slot to add storage that weighs nearly the same. It will handle cards up to 200 MB/s.
As with most other Magsafe power banks, these can charge multiple devices at once. They also support pass-through charging, which means you can recharge your gadgets as well as the power bank if you're near a wall outlet. The power banks themselves will charge from 0%-80% in 1 hour (15-W input for the 5,000-mAh version, and 27 W for the 10,000-mAh versions), and they each come with a Type C-to-Type C lanyard cable.
Of course, they're not just for iPhones – they'll power up anything with a cable that connects via a Type-C port at one end, including Android phones, headphones, and earbuds.
BMX is crowdfunding these power banks over on Kickstarter, where they're currently being offered at a discount. The SolidSafe 5K will retail at US$79, but can be had for $49. The 10K is listed at $59, down from its retail price of $100; the 10K + microSD is available at $79, down from its retail price of $129. Orders of three or five power banks will snag you a free charging dock that will juice up multiple SolidSafes at once.
It's worth noting that BMX isn't the only outfit making solid-state power banks. Its discounted 5K model is about the same price as Kuxiu's offering, but CE-Link's range that was announced earlier this year doesn't appear to be widely available yet.
All crowdfunding campaigns carry an element of risk. BMX notes that its team hails from established hardware companies, and is on track to certify, manufacture, and ship the SolidSafe series worldwide in October. It's also surpassed its funding goal with over 1,200 backers, for what that's worth.
Check out BMX's power banks on this Kickstarter page.
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