The transition to EVs frequently raises questions about the sustainability of batteries, from mining impacts to vehicle carbon emissions. To address these questions, the Center for Law, Energy & the Environment (CLEE) and the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) are conducting a research initiative focused on identifying strategies to improve sustainability and governance across the… Read more »
Scientists at the Toyohashi University of Technology have made an active sulfur material and carbon nanofiber (CNF) composite using a low-cost liquid phase process. Their paper, published in the American Chemical Society’s ACS Applied Energy Materials, claims that all-solid-state lithium-sulfur batteries using a sulfur-CNF composite material show higher discharge capacity and better cycle stability than… Read more »
The US Department of Energy (DOE) will provide up to $18 million for basic research to ensure the continued availability of rare earth elements. Neodymium, praseodymium, lanthanum and other rare earth materials are widely used in a variety of technological applications, including EV motors and wind turbines. The research will seek breakthroughs that increase the… Read more »
Sponsored by NXP Semiconductors Power inverter safety system concept for ISO 26262 By Erik Santiago & Antoine Dubois, NXP Semiconductors One of the indisputable facts about the automotive industry is that the overall electronic system content in vehicles is increasing. As vehicles become more sophisticated and include features that sense, think and act for the… Read more »
USA Rare Earth has purchased the neodymium iron boron (NdFeB) permanent magnet manufacturing equipment formerly owned and operated in North Carolina by Hitachi Metals America. Demand for rare earth magnets is being driven by plug-in vehicles (electric motors and batteries), wind generators (direct drive generators), medical devices (personal vital sign monitors and medical imaging machines)… Read more »
Sunstone Engineering has expanded the energy range of its production-ready, capacitive discharge fine spot welders, adding the 1,200 Ws model to its existing line, which already includes 200, 400, and 600 Ws models. “Sunstone’s CDDP-A welders make [EV] power cell production more efficient in two ways,” says Sunstone President Jonathan Young. “First, as a fine… Read more »
Researchers have demonstrated the use of ionic liquids for recycling bonded neodymium (NdFeB) permanent magnets—-the type often used in EV motors. Their work, which could ease the strain on rare earth materials, is published in the open-access journal Green Chemistry. “Ionic liquids (ILs) are known to be excellent green solvents for many types of synthetic… Read more »
Sponsored By Keysight Technologies Download a beautifully designed automotive communications poster. It provides an overview of the technologies that make new cars safer and more convenient, including a comparison of dedicated short-range communications and C-V2X technologies. Get into the fast lane with the latest technical resources on autonomous driving. Learn about design and test of… Read more »
Researchers at Tokyo Metropolitan University have developed a new method to make ceramic-based flexible electrolyte sheets for lithium metal batteries. They combined a garnet-type ceramic, a polymer binder, and an ionic liquid, producing a quasi-solid-state sheet electrolyte. The synthesis is carried out at room temperature, requiring significantly less energy than existing high-temperature (>1,000° C) processes…. Read more »
Toshiba Corporation‘s SCiB lithium-ion battery modules have received approval for use in marine vessels from international ship classification society Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK). Ships with the battery system can use renewable energy sources to charge the SCiB while at sea, allowing the system to power on-board equipment while the ship is at anchor and to… Read more »