Energy Storage Archives – The Green Optimistic

California Power Company’s Energy Storage Up by 50MW

Annika Tostengard — Thu, 16 Jul 2015 09:58:04 +0000

Advanced Microgrid Solutions (AMS) has joined with SunEdison to fulfill their 50 megawatt contract with Southern California Edison (SCE). The contractors will work directly with the power company to analyze where electricity demand is low so that it can be used in areas where electricity demand is greatest. AMS searches for areas that have the potential […]

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Ice Cooling System Coming to Southern California

Annika Tostengard — Fri, 10 Jul 2015 13:31:27 +0000

Californian companies NRG Energy and Ice Energy have teamed up to install an innovative new green technology that will help alleviate Southern California’s intensive energy usage during the day. These behind-the-grid units, called Ice Bears, work by making ice at night when electric usage is minimal and then using that ice to cool air conditioners during […]

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Maine Passes Net Energy Metering Reform Bill

Annika Tostengard — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 11:00:34 +0000

Solar energy is in the spotlight once again, as legislators in Maine have overridden a veto on a bill that addresses how net energy metering users, or those who sell solar energy to power companies, should be compensated. The bill passed 119 to 28 in the house, where the majority of legislators are Democrats, and 32 to 3 […]

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Plant-Inspired Technology Makes Solar Cells Store Energy

Mila Luleva — Mon, 22 Jun 2015 13:08:25 +0000

Technology inspired by plant photosynthesis, allows solar cells to store energy for weeks, eliminating the need of batteries. Everyone is getting a bit tired of hearing that lack of development in energy storage stands in the way of otherwise blossoming renewable energy generation. But while battery developers are spending countless sleepless nights, trying to figure […]

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Mercedes-Benz Home Battery Challenges Tesla’s Powerwall

Mila Luleva — Mon, 08 Jun 2015 15:38:46 +0000

Daimler, the company that provides batteries for the electric and hybrid vehicles of Mercedes-Benz, is taking on Tesla in developing energy storage systems for homes and businesses. Renewable energy is growing stronger by the minute, as new gigantic wind or solar farms are continuously popping-up at more and more locations. But these are not the […]

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Dutch “Energy Train” Moves at 1,250 MPH, Stores 2.5GWh of Electricity

Mila Luleva — Tue, 02 Jun 2015 14:13:38 +0000

A super fast floating train, developed by the Energy Research Institute in the Netherlands, can store as much as 10% of the total energy demand of the entire Dutch population in the form of kinetic energy. There is only one thing that prevents renewable energy from taking over the world completely, and that is the […]

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Can Tesla’s Giga Factory Meet the Demand For Powerwall Battery?

Mila Luleva — Tue, 12 May 2015 19:20:45 +0000

The orders for Tesla’s home battery are skyrocketing, but will Elon Musk manage to meet the high demand? Rumor has it that the giga-factory is too small. If you are one of the people that decided to wait a week time before they make the decision to order one of Tesla’s Powerwall batteries, you should know […]

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Powerwall – The Tesla Home Battery We’ve Been Waiting For

Ovidiu Sandru — Fri, 01 May 2015 07:53:17 +0000

The Tesla Powerwall, also known as “Tesla home battery,” has been unveiled today by Tesla Motors at their Hawthorne studio. The main idea behind the Powerwall is closely connected to the smart grid concept and solar panels. For those who don’t know, Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk is also on the board of Solar City, which […]

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New Ultracentrifugal Processing Technology from Japan to Improve Li-Ion Batteries

Ovidiu Sandru — Tue, 11 May 2010 12:50:07 +0000

Lithium ion batteries have been on the mainstream of electricity storage for a while, providing power for applications ranging from mobile phones to electric/hybrid cars. Still, lithium ion batteries need further development that would further increase their capacity and lifetime.

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Metallic Catalysts Could Increase the Efficiency of Li-Air Batteries Three Fold

Cristi — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 19:20:11 +0000

The MIT researchers could easily change the balance towards Li-air batteries in the near future just by changing the actual electrode materials. In the paper published in the journal Electrochemical and Solid-State Letters, the researchers showed that by changing the carbon electrodes with gold or platinum electrodes as a catalyst, the efficiency of the battery will increase.

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Hitachi-Maxell's New Li-Ion Batteries Shown at Rechargeable Battery Expo in Tokyo

Cristi — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 18:06:41 +0000

The 1st Int'l Rechargeable Battery Expo held in Tokyo at the beginning of March was pleased to announce a lot of battery manufacturers interested in future technologies, in new developments for various industries.

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New Hope for EVs: Bolivia Holding World's Richest Lithium Field

Cristi — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 08:20:04 +0000

As the automotive industry has oriented itself towards green energy usage, the need of a "supreme" alternative resource is obvious. And what is more obvious is the demand of Electric Vehicles. EVs need to store their energy in batteries: mainly Lithium-Ion batteries. As of this particular reason, Lithium seems to be one of the most searched resource.

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Swiss Joint Venture Secretly Developing 1MW Battery

Cristi — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 19:04:28 +0000

Since their invention in 1800 by Alessandro Volta, batteries have become a common power source for houses and industrial applications and hystory has proven that modern society cannot live without them.

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Remarkable Lifetime Results for EV Batteries

Cristi — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 18:30:05 +0000

Scientists from Southern California Edison (SCE) have developed an tested for two and a half years a lithium-ion battery sub-pack with very encouraging results. The battery tested survived 180,000miles with no significant deterioration.

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Using Zinc-Air Batteries to Charge Your Mobile Phone

Cristi — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 19:48:26 +0000

Based on Zinc-Air battery technology, a Japanese company called KFE, developed a power source for a portable phone charger.

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Lightning GT: Britain's Competitor to Tesla's Roadster

Ovidiu Sandru — Tue, 06 May 2008 07:30:24 +0000

Just a few months ago I was presenting the Tesla Roadster as a pioneer in electric vehicles. And it surely is. It does 60mph in just 3.7 seconds, is extremely light and not so comfortable. This time, the British have projected a brand-new electric car that would ultimately compete with Tesla’s famous Roadster. The car […]

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Still Insufficient Power for the Plug-In Prius

Ovidiu Sandru — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 14:09:23 +0000

TOKYO – Toyota Motor Corp. unveiled a “plug-in” hybrid car based on its popular Prius model on Wednesday, saying it would test the fuel-saving vehicle on public roads — a first for the industry. But the world’s biggest automaker said the car, called the Toyota Plug-in HV, was not fit for commercialisation since it uses […]

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