Sponsored by EPCOS, a TDK Group Company By Matt Reynolds, Director of Marketing, Piezo and Protection Devices The technology behind capacitors has been around since late 1745 when a physicist in Germany found that an electrical charge could be stored by connecting a high-voltage electrostatic generator by a wire to a volume of water in a hand-held… Read more »
Nanotech specialist Xtalic Corporation has created alloys and coatings that increase battery connector lifespans from 250 charge cycles to 10,000 at temperatures of 150° C and above. In order to do this, the company places certain elements in its primary material’s grain boundaries to create alloys with higher stabilities at various temperatures and accurately controlled… Read more »
Cambridge research has shed light on the potential of a previously ignored class of electrode material: niobium tungsten oxides. These compounds display several promising properties, including a lack of the dendrite formation which plagues graphite-based designs. They have a relatively large particle size and a structure that allows lithium ions to travel freely. This high transport rate can… Read more »
Battery specialist BYD has opened a140 football field-size battery factory in China’s lithium-abundant Qinghai province. The plant is BYD’s third Chinese battery factory, and is part of the company’s plan to increase total production capacity to 60 GWh by 2020. Scheduled for completion in 2019, the plant will be heavily automated, using driverless guided vehicles,… Read more »
New research from the University of California San Diego has found one of the causes of voltage fade in lithium-rich layered oxides (LRLO). LRLO is a promising candidate as a cathode material as it can provide 50% more capacity than current alternatives. However, voltage fade reduces the energy capacity of this material over time. UC… Read more »
Hyundai’s venture capital division, Cradle, is investing in Massachusetts-based battery materials developer Ionic Materials. Ionic says its patented solid polymer material enables solid-state batteries that are inherently safe, high in energy density and operational at room temperature. The special properties of Ionic’s polymer electrolyte also support lithium-ion cells with little to no cobalt in their cathodes…. Read more »
One of Audi’s key manufacturing plants, Audi Hungaria, has officially begun series production of electric motors. Audi’s first all-electric vehicle, the e-tron, will rely heavily on the plant’s electric motor production capacity. The new dedicated 8,500-square-meter floor space uses a modular intelligent-assembly system in order to roll out 400 electric-axle motors per day. Though this number… Read more »
In order to focus on the global transportation market, battery management specialist Midtronics has sold its Stationary Power Division (SPD) to Franklin Electric. The SPD will be combined with Franklin Electric’s Electric Grid Solutions division and will provide the same contact information for product service and support. “The divestiture of the Stationary Power Division enables us… Read more »
Sponsored by Chroma Systems Solutions An automotive DC-DC converter receives high voltage from the battery and converts it to a lower voltage to power on board devices such as the instrumentation panel, entertainment system, sensors, LED lighting, and any other on board devices requiring low voltage DC power. Manufacture’s strategies in DC-DC converter development include reduction in size… Read more »
Tesla recently filed a patent on a new technology that could make its battery packs safer. The system is designed to isolate damage caused by failed battery cells, and prevent them from affecting intact cells in the pack. When battery cells fail, they typically release hot gases that can spread the damage to nearby cells…. Read more »