Belgium-based EconCore has announced a partnership involving AZL, Audi and others to establish the potential of using composites for battery housings. This eight-month collaborative project will assess the technical challenges, opportunities and benefits of developing battery casings for EVs using a variety of materials, including thermoplastics. The project has been established by the industry network… Read more »
The Tech
IPG’s Turbine tech can use hydrogen and biofuels for off-grid EV chargers
Intelligent Power Generation (IPG) has secured a £1-million contract from Highways England (HE) to demonstrate its turbine technology for EV charging infrastructure. IPG’s Flameless Ceramic Turbine technology is designed to support EV charging in high-use and remote locations by using fossil fuels for grid-independent power generation. According to IPG, in many high-use areas and remote… Read more »
Wolfspeed: ready to support a booming EV industry with SiC power and charging solutions
Sponsored by Wolfspeed The electric vehicle (EV) market is expected to jump from 3.2 million units in 2019 to nearly 27 million units by the year 2030. Major players in this industry are expected to invest more than $350 billion in the near future to grow the electric vehicle market. Wolfspeed understands the technological challenges that… Read more »
MAHLE opens new test bench facility for electric drives
MAHLE has commissioned a test bench for electric drives near Stuttgart, Germany. This equipment will be used to develop and test e-axles and e-drive units for a wide range of EVs. The company has invested around €3 million in the new facility. “With the commissioning of the test bench, MAHLE continues the targeted expansion of… Read more »
Momentum Technologies licenses ORNL process to recover metals from batteries
Momentum Technologies, a Dallas-based materials science company focused on extracting critical metals from electronic waste, has licensed a process developed by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) for recovering cobalt and other metals from spent Li-ion batteries. Several critical elements, such as cobalt, nickel, lithium and manganese, are used in EV batteries. Using ORNL’s Membrane… Read more »
Using bidirectional programmable DC power supplies for battery testing
Sponsored by EA Elektro-Automatik In today’s fast-paced world the need to create quicker, more mobile mechanical devices is steadily increasing. One primary method for doing this is to replace traditional gas-powered or plugged-in devices with battery power. Batteries have become smaller and increasingly efficient as a result. In order to keep up with the rate… Read more »
Fujitsu introduces compact PCB relay for medium-to-heavy automotive loads
Fujitsu has expanded its automotive relay offering with a new 12 VDC PCB relay featuring a switching capacity of 50 A at 14 VDC. The FBR53-HC offers a higher contact rating than its 40-amp FBR53-HW counterpart, yet occupies the same 12.1 x 15.5 x 13.7 mm footprint, and weighs the same 6 grams. With a… Read more »
BASF markets anode binders for Li-ion batteries
Battery manufacturers are striving to increase capacity, reduce charging time and ensure an adequate supply of raw materials. BASF developed its new Licity range of binders in order to meet these needs. Depending on their requirements, customers can choose a series with a certain application focus, such as binders suitable for pure graphite or silicon-containing anodes…. Read more »
More conductive copper could increase motor efficiency
Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) claim to have increased the conductivity of copper wire by about five percent. That may seem like a small amount, but it could make a big difference in motor efficiency. Higher conductivity would also mean that less copper would be needed for the same efficiency, which could reduce… Read more »
Russian nuclear company ROSATOM enters EV battery market
Russian nuclear technology company ROSATOM has entered the energy storage market. Subsidiary RENERA will develop modular lithium-ion traction batteries for EVs, as well as energy storage systems for emergency power, renewable energy and load shifting. The company’s current portfolio includes more than 120 ongoing and completed projects to supply Li-ion batteries. A number of contracts… Read more »