Ultracapacitor manufacturer Skeleton Technologies has signed a distribution agreement with Sumitomo Europe to provide energy storage solutions for the EV industry. Skeleton’s graphene-based ultracapacitors boast high power density, a recharge time of 2-3 seconds and more than one million life cycles. In EVs, ultracapacitors can be used in tandem with lithium-ion batteries, an arrangement that… Read more »
The DOE has announced up to $100 million in funding for new projects as part of ARPA‑E’s latest OPEN funding opportunity (DE-FOA-0001858). Areas of research covered by this FOA include all aspects of transportation, including electrification and energy efficiency. Under the Transportation Technical Category, subcategories include: electric motors; fuel cells; alternative vehicle designs such as… Read more »
The BMW Group plans to consolidate its battery cell expertise at a new interdisciplinary competence center, which will open in early 2019. The company will invest a total of 200 million euros in the location over the next four years. Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony, BMW Board Member Klaus Fröhlich said, “We will be concentrating… Read more »
Researchers from Empa, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, and the University of Geneva (UNIGE) have built a prototype solid-state battery based on sodium as an alternative to lithium. The scientists described their research in the journal Energy and Environmental Science. Using metallic lithium as an anode material would theoretically increase energy… Read more »
Solid Power has grown rapidly since it was established in 2012 as a spin-out company from the University of Colorado. The battery developer recently moved into a new facility in Louisville, Colorado that will triple its footprint. Now the company has announced a partnership with the BMW Group to develop its solid-state batteries for EV… Read more »
DOE scientists at the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research (JCESR) have discovered a new magnesium-ion solid-state conductor, a major step towards making solid-state magnesium-ion batteries that are both energy-dense and safe. The liquid electrolyte used in current lithium-ion batteries makes them potentially flammable. Researchers around the world are working to develop a practical solid-state… Read more »
Groupe PSA, owner of the Peugeot, Citroën, DS, Opel and Vauxhall brands, and Nidec Leroy-Somer, a French manufacturer of small precision motors, plan to form a joint venture to develop a range of traction motors for electrified vehicles. The 50/50 JV will receive an initial investment of €220 million ($262 million). The main components of… Read more »
A pair of Vanderbilt University researchers have developed a battery management device that could increase the useful range of a battery pack by controlling each cell individually. Ken Pence, Professor of the Practice of Engineering Management, and Tim Potteiger, a PhD student in electrical engineering, used the open-source Tesla battery to model their technique, adding… Read more »
Dr. Jennifer Rupp, Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT, has won the BASF and Volkswagen Science Award Electrochemistry 2017 for her outstanding research results in the area of next-generation energy storage systems. Dr. Rupp’s research focuses on material and electrode designs for solid-state batteries. She explored a novel glassy-type lithium-ion conductor that… Read more »
Luxembourg-based OCSiAl recently hosted a two-day Nanoaugmented Materials Industry Summit at which some 400 industry executives and researchers from 30 countries shared their experiences of working with single-wall carbon nanotubes. OCSiAl’s TUBALL nanotubes are designed to provide manufacturers with high conductivity and increased energy density as a result of a higher percentage of active material…. Read more »