Posts Tagged battery

“Flash Thermography Measurement” Technique Sees Battery Electrode Defects Before Assembly

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Energy Storage, New Inventions on May 11, 2013

A team at Purdue University have discovered a method of detecting defects in lithium ion battery anodes as they are manufactured, before installing them in actual batteries. Their discovery relies on thermal imaging and could increase the reliability of lithium ion cells used in electric cars. Anodes and cathodes are the two electrodes of a [...]

New Lithium Deposits in Wyoming Could Bring Down Cost of Battery Production

Posted by Mila Luleva in Energy Storage on April 26, 2013

Researchers from University of Wyoming discovered new deposits of lithium in the Rock Springs Uplift in southern Wyoming. The amount of the element is thought to be sufficient to meet the annual U.S. demand, exceeding twice the reserves of the largest lithium producer in Nevada. Although lithium can be recycled and does now disappear from [...]

New Polymer from Waste Sulfur Enhances EV Batteries

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Energy Storage on April 16, 2013

Waste sulfur could see new life due to a chemical process discovered recently by University of Arizona scientists. The lightweight plastic they created can be used to enhance lithium sulfur batteries and improve the range of electric cars or be used in optical systems. “We’ve developed a new, simple and useful chemical process to convert [...]

Better Lead Acid Batteries Built with Hard Drive Tech

Posted by Leigh Kim in Energy Storage on March 9, 2013

Over the past three years, Gridtential has been slowly developing a better lead acid battery by using chip and hard-disk drive manufacturing processes. Gridtential used a grant from the California Energy Commission to demonstrate that its lead acid battery is far better than standard lead acid batteries. The company’s batteries have two times the energy density [...]

GM VP Sparks Speculation: Next Chevy Volt With Smaller Battery?

Posted by Benji Jerew in Car industry on March 8, 2013

Everyone likes to have options, so could the next Chevy Volt have different battery options to change the price? Of course, the Chevy Volt is only available in one configuration, but wouldn’t be nice to be able to get it customized? The only reason we bring this up is because of a recent AutoExpress interview [...]

Sun Catalytix’s Grid-Connected Flow Batteries Promise Cheap Energy Storage

Posted by Mila Luleva in Energy Storage on March 7, 2013

Sun Catalytix, a company which spun out of MIT in 2009 to bring a low-cost catalyst to the market, has changed its main goal from enabling the hydrogen economy to designing a flow battery for grid storage. The first prototype is expected later this year. The new flow battery will be made of two custom-designed [...]

Honda Recycles Rare Earth Metals to Manufacture New Batteries

Posted by Benji Jerew in Electric Vehicles, Energy Storage, Hybrid vehicles, Recycling on March 4, 2013

Honda has devised a way, the first process of its kind, to extract the rare earth metals from used batteries and other products, recycling them to be made into new batteries. Electric and hybrid electric vehicles, in themselves are, without a doubt, cleaner vehicles. In operation, they have fewer, even zero, emissions when compared to their petroleum-fueled counterparts. Lifecycle [...]

New Solid Battery Electrolyte Prevents Fire, Increases Capacity Five Fold

Posted by Mila Luleva in Energy Storage on January 28, 2013

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) developed an electrolyte, which has the potential to boost the energy storage capacity of lithium-ion batteries, while being safer than these on Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner. Although the reason for the fire on the Boeing is not yet determined, if they used a safer electrolyte, the risk of fire [...]

NREL’s AMPED Project Boosts Battery Efficiency by Better Management

Posted by Benji Jerew in Electric Vehicles, Energy Storage on January 22, 2013

The three main factors that affect the life of a rechargeable battery, any rechargeable battery, is chemistry, management, and usage. The same goes for the massive batteries that we find in hybrid electric vehicles [HEV] and electric vehicles [EV]. For the most part, regarding chemistry, Toyota is sticking with tried-and-true nickel-metal hydride [NiMH] battery packs, [...]

Prolonging Battery Life to Power Electric Locomotives

Posted by Mila Luleva in Energy Storage on January 5, 2013

One of the greatest challenges in front of transport infrastructure engineers, who aim to design electric locomotives, is to find a cost effective and efficient way to extend battery life. The example that illustrates this is the first all-electric, battery-powered locomotive in the U.S. called Norfolk Southern Railway No. 999. It runs on one thousand [...]

New Foam Material Could Improve Batteries and Hydrogen Fuel Cells

Posted by Mila Luleva in Energy Storage on December 20, 2012

The latest issue of the journal Angewandte Chemie published a study that reveals a new cheap material that can be used in electrodes of electrochemical cells. The material discovered by a team of Korean and American scientists is based on affordable carbon black and melamine foam. The high number of catalytically active centers, combined with the [...]

European SmartBatt Seeks Lighter EV Battery Packs

Posted by Benji Jerew in Electric Vehicles, Energy Storage on December 18, 2012

Electric vehicles [EV] are designed to make the most of their limited battery charge. To that end, EV designers focus on weight reduction, aerodynamics, and efficient electrical systems. Still, the lithium-ion [Li-ion] battery packs in today’s EVs are a major part of the weight that needs to be hauled around, whether fully charged or not. [...]

General Electric Zero Emissions Bus Combines Li-ion, Na-ion, and HFC

Posted by Benji Jerew in Electric Vehicles, Hydrogen Power on December 14, 2012

In the last few years, electrified, zero emissions buses have become, if not common, at least accepted in cities around the world. One bus line in Milton Keynes, UK, runs a fleet of electric buses that recharge on the driver’s break via an inductive charging pad buried in the road. One limitation of the electric [...]

Why Lithium Ion Batteries Can’t Hold More Charge, Scientists Find

Posted by Benji Jerew in Energy Storage on December 13, 2012

There are a number of factors which affect the power capacity and lifespan of the rechargeable battery packs that are found in hybrid electric vehicle [HEV] or electric vehicle [EV]. Battery chemistry, of course, plays a significant role, and currently, lithium-ion [Li-ion] batteries offer the industry’s best power transfer characteristics. Charging and discharging must also [...]

Chinese Battery Company Wanxiang Could Acquire A123 Systems

Posted by Benji Jerew in Electric Vehicles, Green Policy on December 10, 2012

In our ongoing coverage of the fall of the advanced rechargeable battery company, A123 Systems, we’ve seen A123′s slow decline and finally, bankruptcy proceedings. One version of their latest battery technology was supposed to go into the new Chevy Spark EV, as well as another iteration in Fisker’s next model. Unfortunately, the market for electric [...]