Advances in batteries/energy thread

[ScienceRocks]

---This thread will have the latest advances in batteries @ energy technology----Batteries, Wind, solar, wave, oil, coal, nuclear, fusion, etc...This is modeled after the threads in the science forum. I will consider making another thread for general news...We will see.

Texas Instruments brings fast charging, extended life to Li-ion batteries

By Myriam Joire posted Jun 7th 2013 9:14AM 19

Texas Instruments brings fast charging, extended life to Li-ion batteries

Yesterday Texas Instruments introduced a couple of new chipsets (fuel gauge an charger ICs) designed to improve the charging speed and life expectancy of single-cell Li-ion batteries. The technology, called MaxLife, is expected to provide an improvement of up to 30 percent in battery service life and faster charging times. Cell impedance is carefully monitored by the fuel gauge chip while the charger IC uses a model of battery degradation to charge the cell in the most optimal way. Both chips are connected via an I2C bus to form an autonomous battery management system which, according to the company, is safer and more thermally efficient than existing solutions. The two chipsets (2.5A and 4.5A) are now available along with a development kit, so it's only a matter of time until this technology lands into handsets and other devices that use single-cell Li-ion batteries

Mobile phone users are frustrated when their batteries' charge doesn't last as long after months of daily charging and discharging. TI's MaxLife technology leverages an innovative degradation modeling system to minimize charge time while extending battery service life – as much as 30 percent according to lab tests. Based on TI's popular Impedance Track™ battery capacity measurement technology, the MaxLife algorithm accurately predicts and avoids charge conditions that could degrade the battery.

Texas Instruments brings fast charging, extended life to Li-ion batteries

 

[ScienceRocks]

New all-solid sulfur-based battery outperforms lithium-ion technology

New all-solid sulfur-based battery outperforms lithium-ion technology

Scientists at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have designed and tested an all-solid lithium-sulfur battery with approximately four times the energy density of conventional lithium-ion technologies that power today's electronics.

The ORNL battery design, which uses abundant low-cost elemental sulfur, also addresses flammability concerns experienced by other chemistries.

The new ionically-conductive cathode enabled the ORNL battery to maintain a capacity of 1200 milliamp-hours (mAh) per gram after 300 charge-discharge cycles at 60 degrees Celsius. For comparison, a traditional lithium-ion battery cathode has an average capacity between 140-170 mAh/g. Because lithium-sulfur batteries deliver about half the voltage of lithium-ion versions, this eight-fold increase in capacity demonstrated in the ORNL battery cathode translates into four times the gravimetric energy density of lithium-ion technologies, explained Liang.

Although the team's new battery is still in the demonstration stage, Liang and his colleagues hope to see their research move quickly from the laboratory into commercial applications. A patent on the team's design is pending.

Imagine a electric car with 4 times the range!

 

[ScienceRocks]

Researchers Design a New Low Cost Lithium-Polysulfide Flow Battery
Researchers Design a New Low Cost Lithium-Polysulfide Flow Battery | SciTech Daily

May 24, 2013 by Staff

Menlo Park, California — Researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University have designed a low-cost, long-life battery that could enable solar and wind energy to become major suppliers to the electrical grid.

“For solar and wind power to be used in a significant way, we need a battery made of economical materials that are easy to scale and still efficient,” said Yi Cui, a Stanford associate professor of materials science and engineering and a member of the Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Sciences, a SLAC/Stanford joint institute. “We believe our new battery may be the best yet designed to regulate the natural fluctuations of these alternative energies.”

Cui and colleagues report their research results, some of the earliest supported by the DOE’s new Joint Center for Energy Storage Research battery hub, in the May issue of Energy & Environmental Science.

In this video, Stanford graduate student Wesley Zheng demonstrates the new low-cost, long-lived flow battery he helped create. The researchers created this miniature system using simple glassware. Adding a lithium polysulfide solution to the flask immediately produces electricity that lights an LED. A utility version of the new battery would be scaled up to store many megawatt-hours of energy. Credit: SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

Currently the electrical grid cannot tolerate large and sudden power fluctuations caused by wide swings in sunlight and wind. As solar and wind’s combined contributions to an electrical grid approach 20 percent, energy storage systems must be available to smooth out the peaks and valleys of this “intermittent” power – storing excess energy and discharging when input drops.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Some more news on batteries lasting 10,000 cycles at 85%! 27 years.


New Durable High-Power Lithium-Ion Battery Developed In Germany


May 30, 2013 Thomas

Scientists at the Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research (ZSW) in Ulm, Germany have developed a top-class lithium-ion battery, in terms of cycle stability – an important parameter for the lifetime. It is exceeding the current international state of technology for high-performance battery cells.

More than 10,000 full cycles have been achieved so far. With other values, such as the power density, the batteries are equivalent to those produced by leading Asian manufacturers. The active materials for the batteries exclusively originate from German companies. The ZSW has designed the cells, developed the manufacturing process, and produced a small sample series in the 18650-format. The technology has created the basis for manufacturing large-size pouch cells and large-size prismatic cells. The lithium-ion batteries are intended for use in electric vehicles and as solar power storage systems.

“After 10,000 complete charging and discharging cycles with a complete charge and discharge cycle per hour (2 C), our lithium batteries still have more than 85% of the initial capacity,” reports Dr. Margret Wohlfahrt-Mehrens, head of the Accumulator Material Research Department in Ulm. “That also provides excellent prospects for a long calendar life.” A long service life is an essential requirement from automotive companies. Lithium-ion batteries need to be able to do their work in cars for at least ten years without the battery capacity dropping to less than 80% of the rated value.

Read more at New Durable High Power Lithium Ion Battery from Germany

 

[ScienceRocks]

Solar Power Windows Fast Approaching Commercial Production


May 17, 2013 Nathan

Solar Power Windows Fast Approaching Commercial Production | CleanTechnica

Commercial production of solar windows, using the patented SolarWindow spray-on solar power coating system, may be just around the corner. A recent announcement from US building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) developer New Energy Technologies Ltd. (which we’ve been following for years) has us feeling that the time may soon come.

As per New Energy Technologies’ recent announcement, the big news is that the fabrication time of the technology has been greatly reduced. The fabrication process, which involves methodically spraying layers of extremely small solar cells onto glass, has been reduced from a couple of days to only a couple of hours. According to the company, the process has been cut to 1/6 of the previous fabrication time.

And perhaps as significantly, New Energy has also reported that it has achieved “a two-fold increase in power conversion efficiency” and improved the transparency if the glass. Here are some more notes from the company:


Researchers achieved today’s advances by way of a novel, patent-pending breakthrough, which enables fabrication of large-scale mini-module SolarWindow™ devices, important to commercial deployment of the world’s first-of-its-kind glass window capable of generating electricity.

Read more at Solar Power Windows Fast Approaching Commercial Production | CleanTechnica

 

[ScienceRocks]

New Framework for Understanding the Energetics of Ionic Liquids

June 7, 2013 — A new study by researchers at UC Santa Barbara provides clues into the understanding of the behavior of the charged molecules or particles in ionic liquids. The new framework may lead to the creation of cleaner, more sustainable, and nontoxic batteries, and other sources of chemical power. The research was published in an early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"I think this framework would provide a nice strategy to begin discussions toward batteries utilizing ionic liquids," said graduate student researcher Matthew Gebbie, first author of the paper, "Ionic liquids behave as dilute electrolyte solutions."

New framework for understanding the energetics of ionic liquids

 

[ScienceRocks]

Scientists create novel silicon electrodes that improve lithium-ion batteries

Stanford University scientists have dramatically improved the performance of lithium-ion batteries by creating novel electrodes made of silicon and conducting polymer hydrogel, a spongy material similar to that used in contact lenses and other household products

Writing in the June 4 edition of the journal Nature Communications, the scientists describe a new technique for producing low-cost, silicon-based batteries with potential applications for a wide range of electrical devices.

"Developing rechargeable lithium-ion batteries with high energy density and long cycle life is of critical importance to address the ever-increasing energy storage needs for portable electronics, electric vehicles and other technologies," said study co-author Zhenan Bao, a professor of chemical engineering at Stanford.

To find a practical, inexpensive material that increases the storage capacity of lithium-ion batteries, Bao and her Stanford colleagues turned to silicon – an abundant, environmentally benign element with promising electronic properties.

"We've been trying to develop silicon-based electrodes for high-capacity lithium-ion batteries for several years," said study co-author Yi Cui, an associate professor of materials science and engineering at Stanford. "Silicon has 10 times the charge storage capacity of carbon, the conventional material used in lithium-ion electrodes. The problem is that silicon expands and breaks."

Studies have shown that silicon particles can undergo a 400-percent volume expansion when combined with lithium. When the battery is charged or discharged, the bloated particles tend to fracture and lose electrical contact. To overcome these technical constraints, the Stanford team used a fabrication technique called in situ synthesis polymerization that coats the silicon nanoparticles within the conducting hydrogel.
This technique allowed the scientists to create a stable lithium-ion battery that retained a high storage capacity through 5,000 cycles of charging and discharging.

Read more at: Scientists create novel silicon electrodes that improve lithium-ion batteries

This will solve our electric car range problems!

 

[ScienceRocks]

ZSW engineers build lithium-ion battery able to last for 27 years

3 hours ago by Bob Yirka report

(Phys.org) —Officials at Germany's Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg, (ZSW) have issued a press release describing improvements they've made to lithium-ion batteries. They claim their improvements allow a single battery to be recharged up to 10,000 times while still retaining 85 percent of its charging capacity. Such a battery, if used in an electric car, they note, would allow its owner to recharge the battery every day for 27.4 years.

Read more at: ZSW engineers build lithium-ion battery able to last for 27 years

 

[ScienceRocks]

New Class Of Solar Cell Reaches New Efficiency Breakthrough


June 11, 2013 Joshua S Hill

Oxford PV have announced that they have achieved a new efficiency high-watermark for their new photovoltaic technology of 15.4%, continuing the march towards scale-up and commercialisation.

Read more at New Class Of Solar Cell Reaches New Efficiency Breakthrough | CleanTechnica

 

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Unzipped nanotubes unlock potential for batteries

34 minutes ago

(Phys.org) —Researchers at Rice University have come up with a new way to boost the efficiency of the ubiquitous lithium ion (LI) battery by employing ribbons of graphene that start as carbon nanotubes.

Proof-of-concept anodes—the part of the battery that stores lithium ions—built with graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) and tin oxide showed an initial capacity better than the theoretical capacity of tin oxide alone, according to Rice chemist James Tour. After 50 charge-discharge cycles, the test units retained a capacity that was still more than double that of the graphite currently used for LI battery anodes.

The research appeared this week in the American Chemical Society journal ACS Nano

Read more at: Unzipped nanotubes unlock potential for batteries

 

[Sallow]

It's breath taking how quickly this technology is starting to advance.

 

[Old Rocks]

New boron-silicon electrode could boost lithium-ion battery capacity

Laptops could work longer and electric cars could drive farther if it were possible to further increase the capacity of their lithium-ion batteries. The electrode material has a decisive influence on a battery’s capacity. So far, the negative electrode typically consists of graphite, whose layers can store lithium atoms. Scientists at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM) have now developed a material made of boron and silicon that could smooth the way to systems with higher capacities.

Loading a lithium-ion battery produces lithium atoms that are taken up by the graphite layers of the negative electrode. However, the capacity of graphite is limited to one lithium atom per six carbon atoms. Silicon could take up to ten times more lithium. But unfortunately, it strongly expands during this process—which leads to unsolved problems in battery applications.

Looking for an alternative to pure silicon, scientists at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen have now synthesized a novel framework structure consisting of boron and silicon, which could serve as electrode material. Similar to the carbon atoms in diamond, the boron and silicon atoms in the novel lithium borosilicide (LiBSi2) are interconnected tetrahedrally. But unlike diamond they moreover form channels.

"Open structures with channels offer in principle the possibility to store and release lithium atoms," says Thomas Fässler, professor at the Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, Technische Universitaet Muenchen. "This is an important requirement for the application as anode material for lithium-ion batteries."

Yet another avenue to extend the life and increase the capacity of the batteries. With other applications outside of that field, also. Folks, at this point, I think that it is a given that we will see EV's with a thousand miles range, and performance that blows away ICE's. And we can fuel them with solar that we own ourselves.

 

[Old Rocks]

Green Car Congress: Amprius launches new high-capacity and high-energy-density Li-ion batteries with silicon anodes

Amprius Inc., a developer of lithium-ion batteries using silicon nanowire anodes (earlier post), has launched the first generation of its high-capacity and high-energy-density Li-ion batteries. The company has begun supplying smartphone and tablet OEMs with its first first two product families, based on an 1,850 mAh (580 Wh/L) battery and a 4,060 mAh (600 Wh/L) battery. Amprius has also signed contracts with its OEM customers to design batteries that meet custom specifications.

The company has also demonstrated greater than 650 and 700 Wh/L batteries with its second-generation and third-generation technology platforms. Amprius plans to begun pilot production of its second-generation batteries later this year.


Amprius' first-generation batteries are made with silicon anodes—not silicon nanowire anodes, which will appear in the subsequent generations.

Amprius’ technology was initially developed at Professor Yi Cui’s laboratory at Stanford University (earlier post); Prof. Cui is a founder of the company

 

[ScienceRocks]

High-power lithium ion microbatteries from interdigitated three-dimensional bicontinuous nanoporous electrodes
http://www.nature.com/ncomms/journal/v4/n4/full/ncomms2747.html

High-performance miniature power sources could enable new microelectronic systems. Here we report lithium ion microbatteries having power densities up to 7.4 mW cm−2 μm−1, which equals or exceeds that of the best supercapacitors, and which is 2,000 times higher than that of other microbatteries. Our key insight is that the battery microarchitecture can concurrently optimize ion and electron transport for high-power delivery, realized here as a three-dimensional bicontinuous interdigitated microelectrodes. The battery microarchitecture affords trade-offs between power and energy density that result in a high-performance power source, and which is scalable to larger areas.

Tiny lithium-ion battery recharges 1000x faster than rival tech, could shrink mobile devices

By Alexis Santos posted Apr 17th, 2013 at 8:01 AM 0

Researchers devise 'most powerful' batteries in the world, shame supercapacitors


http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/17/researchers-devise-fast-and-powerful-microbattery/

Supercapacitors are often hailed as the holy grail of power supplies, but a group of researchers at the University of Illinois have developed a lithium-ion microbattery that leaves that prized solution in the dust, recharging 1,000 times faster than competing tech. Previous work done by Professor William P. King, who led the current effort, resulted in a fast-charging cathode with a 3D microstructure, and now the team has achieved a breakthrough by pairing it with an anode devised in a similar fashion.

The resulting battery is said to be the most powerful in the world, avoiding the usual trade-off between longevity and power while having a footprint of just a few millimeters. By altering its composition, scientists can even optimize the contraption for more juice or increased life. It's expected that the technology could make devices 30 times smaller and help broadcast radio signals up to 30 times farther, but it'll still be a while before it winds up in a super-slim phone within your pocket. For now, the researchers have their sights set on integrating the tech with other electronic components and investigating low-cost manufacturing.

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2013/04/king-20130420.html

This is how the electric car will violently slaughter the gasoline car!

 

[ScienceRocks]

Better way to turn ocean into fuel


The University of Wollongong

Wednesday, 12 June 2013

Better way to turn ocean into fuel (ScienceAlert)

UOW scientists have developed a novel way to turn sea water into hydrogen, for a sustainable and clean fuel source.

Using this method, as little as five litres of sea water per day would produce enough hydrogen to power an average-sized home and an electric car for one day.

The research team at UOW’s Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science (ACES) have developed a light-assisted catalyst that requires less energy input to activate water oxidation, which is the first step in splitting water to produce hydrogen fuel.

A major limitation with current technologies is that the oxidation process needs a higher energy input, which rules out using abundant sea water because it produces poisonous chlorine gas.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Unzpip A Carbon Nanotube, Find A Graphene Ribbon, Create A “Flexible” Li-Ion Battery


June 17, 2013 Tina Casey

In what sounds like a solution in search of a problem, a few years ago researchers at Rice University figured out a way to create graphene ribbons by “unzipping” carbon nanotubes. Well, now it looks like a problem has been found, and it’s a big one with huge implications for the solar and wind power markets, to say nothing of electric vehicles and portable electronics. In the latest twist, the Rice team has applied carbon nanotube-derived graphene nanoribbons to energy storage, and the result is a promising new platform for creating more durable, lightweight and efficient lithium-ion batteries.

For the latest experiments, the Rice team created graphene nanoribbons from carbon nanotubes using a sodium/potassium solution. They used that to make a “slurry” composed of graphene nanoribbons along with nanoscale particles of tin oxide and a bit of water, all bound together with cellulose gum, a common food additive.

As reported in the current issue of the American Chemical Society’s ACS Nano journal, when the researchers applied the slurry to the anode of small “button-style” lithium-ion batteries the results were promising.

After 50 discharge cycles, the batteries retained far more capacity — more than double — than Li-ion batteries using standard graphite anodes.

Mike Williams of Rice University runs down the numbers:

“Lab tests showed initial charge capacities of more than 1,520 milliamp hours per gram (mAh/g). Over repeated charge-discharge cycles, the material settled into a solid 825 mAh/g.”

That could be just the beginning. According to Williams, lead researcher Jian Lin is confident that the new battery could handle “many more” cycles without a significant loss of capacity.

Part of the reason for improved durability is the increased flexibility that graphene nanoribbons lend to the anode. Conventional Li-ion batteries use silicon and other materials that break down and lose efficiency. With a graphene nanoribbon platform the tin oxide particles maintain a consistent size, rather than expanding and contracting.

Read more at Graphene Batteries Made From Unzpipped Carbon Nantuebes

 

[ScienceRocks]

Battery Made From Wood — Efficient, Long-Lasting, Environmentally-Friendly Battery Developed


June 19, 2013 Nathan

An environmentally-friendly, efficient, and long-lasting battery created out of wood? Sounds too good to be true? Well it may not be — researchers say that they have now developed just such a battery.

The tiny new battery — composed of a sliver of wood coated with tin — appears to have great potential, already showing itself to be among the most long-lasting of all sodium-ion nanobatteries. The researchers think that batteries based on this new technology would be best suited for large-scale energy storage — such as storing the excess energy produced by renewable energy installations.

Read more at Battery Made From Wood -- Efficient, Long-Lasting, Environmentally-Friendly Battery Developed | CleanTechnica

 

[ScienceRocks]

Solar Cell Efficiency World Record Set By Sharp — 44.4%


June 23, 2013 Mathias

Editor’s Note: In May, Sharp regained the world’s triple-junction, non-concentrator solar cell efficiency record — 37.9%. Now, it has also taken the overall world solar cell efficiency record — 44.4%. Here’s another repost from Solar Love on the news.

A research team at Sharp Corporation has announced that it has created a solar cell capable of converting 44.4% of incoming sunlight into electricity. The solar cell is of the “concentrator triple-junction compound” type, which basically is a lens-based system that focuses sunlight.

The high conversion efficiencies that we see with compound solar cells are due to several photoabsorbing layers typically made from indium and gallium. Sharp’s record-setting solar cell uses three layers (InGaP top, GaAs middle, and InGaAs bottom), as you can see on the illustration below:

Read more at Solar Cell Efficiency World Record Set By Sharp -- 44.4% | CleanTechnica



Better droplet condensation could boost power efficiency

29 minutes ago by David L. Chandler

Researchers at MIT have developed an innovative approach to improving heat transfer in power plants and cooling systems. The new system could provide a 100 percent improvement in the efficiency of heat transfer over conventional systems, the researchers say.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-06-droplet-condensation-boost-power-efficiency.html#jCp

 

[ScienceRocks]

III-V Solar Cell Efficiency Record Of 31.1% Set By NREL


June 24, 2013 Guest Contributor

NREL just passed along the following news release about yet another solar cell efficiency record (not the Sharp record we reported yesterday).

The Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Lab has announced a world record of 31.1% conversion efficiency for a two-junction solar cell under one sun of illumination.

NREL Scientist Myles Steiner announced the new record June 19 at the 39th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference in Tampa, Fla. The previous record of 30.8% efficiency was held by Alta Devices.

Read more at III-V Solar Cell Efficiency Record Of 31.1% Set By NREL | CleanTechnica

 

[ScienceRocks]

Solar power heads in a new direction: thinner

Most efforts at improving solar cells have focused on increasing the efficiency of their energy conversion, or on lowering the cost of manufacturing. But now MIT researchers are opening another avenue for improvement, aiming to produce the thinnest and most lightweight solar panels possible

Pound for pound, he says, the new solar cells produce up to 1,000 times more power than conventional photovoltaics. At about one nanometer (billionth of a meter) in thickness, "It's 20 to 50 times thinner than the thinnest solar cell that can be made today," Grossman adds. "You couldn't make a solar cell any thinner."

Read more at: Solar power heads in a new direction: thinner

Cree Releases Highest Efficacy Color LEDs, & More…


June 27, 2013 Zachary Shahan

XPE2_Warm_medCree, a leader in LEDs, recently announced the commercial availability of XLamp® XP-E2 color LEDs. According to the company, XP-E2 color LEDs produce up to 88% higher maximum light output than competing high-power color LEDs.

Read more at Cree Releases Highest Efficacy Color LEDs, & More... | CleanTechnica