A battery made out of wood?
24 June, 2013A sliver of wood coated with tin could make a tiny, long-lasting, efficient and environmentally friendly battery, according to researchers at The University of Maryland.
3D-printed Li-Ion microbatteries
20 June, 2013Printing lithium-ion batteries on a 3D printer could enable the development of miniaturised medical implants, compact electronics, tiny robots and more.
‘Popcorn’ particle pathways promise better Li-ion batteries
14 June, 2013Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have confirmed the particle-by-particle mechanism by which lithium ions move in and out of electrodes made of lithium iron phosphate, findings that could lead to better performance in Li-ion batteries in electric vehicles, medical equipment and aircraft.
All-solid sulfur-based battery outperforms Li-Ion technology
07 June, 2013Scientists have designed and tested an all-solid lithium-sulfur battery with approximately four times the energy density of the conventional lithium-ion technologies that power today’s electronics.
ABB develops technology to flash charge electric bus in 15 seconds
03 June, 2013The flash-charging technology and the onboard traction equipment used in this project were developed by ABB and optimised for high-frequency bus routes in key urban areas, carrying large numbers of passengers at peak times.
An Australian EV charger optimises utilities’ network performance
31 May, 2013An Australian-developed electric vehicle charger can halve electric vehicle (EV) charging costs, a world-first Victorian Department of Transport trial has found. The ChargeIQ EV charger was also found to optimise utilities’ network performance.
Scientists develop a low-cost alternative to lithium-ion batteries
30 May, 2013 by Mark Shwartz, Precourt Institute for Energy at Stanford UniversityStanford University scientists have developed an advanced zinc-air battery with higher catalytic activity and durability than similar batteries made with costly platinum and iridium catalysts.
New technique to improve quality control of lithium-ion batteries
13 May, 2013Purdue University researchers have created a new tool to detect flaws in lithium-ion batteries as they are being manufactured - a step towards reducing defects and inconsistencies in the thickness of electrodes that affect battery life and reliability.
Charging electric vehicles cheaper and faster
07 May, 2013Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology have developed an integrated motor drive and battery charger for electric vehicles. Compared to today’s electric vehicle chargers, they have managed to shorten the charging time from eight to two hours, and to reduce the cost by around $2000.
Charge batteries with water puddles
03 May, 2013A power source for your mobile phone can now be as close as the nearest faucet, stream or even a puddle, with the world’s first water-activated charging device. The MyFC PowerTrekk charger relies on fuel cell technology developed at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm.
Researchers develop microbatteries that charge 1000 times faster
23 April, 2013Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed the most powerful microbatteries ever documented. The new microbatteries offer both power and energy, and by tweaking the structure a bit, the researchers can tune them over a wide range on the power-versus-energy scale. The batteries outpower even the best supercapacitors and could drive new applications in compact electronics and radio communications.
Understanding the life of lithium-ion batteries
17 April, 2013Scientists have answered a question that worries millions of owners and potential owners of electric and hybrid vehicles using lithium-ion batteries: how long before the battery pack dies, leaving a sticker-shock bill for a fresh pack or a car ready for the junk heap?
A longer life for lithium-sulfur batteries
09 April, 2013Scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology IWS in Dresden have developed a new design that increases the charge cycles of lithium-sulfur batteries by a factor of seven.
Breakthrough in race to create ‘bio-batteries’
05 April, 2013Findings published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) show that proteins on the surface of bacteria can produce an electric current by simply touching a mineral surface.
Boeing improves its Li-ion batteries
03 April, 2013Boeing has initiated a comprehensive set of improvements that will add several layers of additional safety features to the lithium-ion batteries on 787 commercial jetliners that are in production and could be ready for initial installation within the next few weeks. New enclosures for 787 batteries also are being built and will be installed in aeroplanes in the weeks ahead.
