Rechargeable flow battery for solar and wind power
23 August, 2013MIT researchers have developed a palm-sized rechargeable flow battery prototype that generates three times as much power per square centimetre as other membraneless systems.
Battery-free wireless devices
14 August, 2013University of Washington engineers have created a new wireless communication system that allows devices to interact with each other without relying on batteries or wires for power. The devices exchange information by reflecting or absorbing pre-existing radio signals. The new communication technique, which the researchers call “ambient backscatter”, takes advantage of the TV and cellular transmissions that already surround us around the clock.
Graphene-based supercapacitors for portable electronics
05 August, 2013Monash University researchers have developed a completely new strategy to engineer graphene-based supercapacitors (SC), making them viable for widespread use in renewable energy storage, portable electronics and electric vehicles.
Hybrid cloud to save battery life
26 July, 2013Romanian computer scientists have developed a new system that is said to boost phone battery life by booting power-consuming computational tasks to an on-the-fly ad hoc cloud in which smartphones are both clients and computing resources.
Graphene ‘onion rings’ have delicious potential
23 July, 2013Concentric hexagons of graphene grown in a furnace at Rice University represent the first time anyone has synthesised graphene nanoribbons on metal from the bottom up - atom by atom.
Bacteria batteries to produce electricity
22 July, 2013An increasing demand for sources of alternative energy, environmental pollution caused by conventional batteries and the phasing out of nuclear energy in Germany has encouraged Bielefeld students to develop a bio-battery (microbial fuel cell - MFC), which directly transforms bacteria into energy.
Mobile phone powered with pee
17 July, 2013British scientists have developed a novel way of charging mobile phones using urine as the power source to generate electricity.
Researchers spy on Li-Ions to develop next-gen batteries
11 July, 2013Reza Shahbazian-Yassar, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at Michigan Technological University, has developed a device that allows researchers to eavesdrop on individual lithium ions - and potentially develop the next generation of batteries.
New electrolyte gel for safer batteries
05 July, 2013Korean researchers have found a new physical organogel electrolyte with two unique characteristics: an irreversible thermal gelation and a high value of the lithium-ion transference number.
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.
