The big buzz on the EV tech scene these days is about silicon anodes, which could offer ten times more storage capacity than carbon anodes. Scientists around the world are looking for ways to overcome the remaining obstacles to using silicon for a new generation of lithium-ion batteries. Researchers at Stanford University and the DOE’s… Read more »
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Former Envia Systems execs drop their lawsuit
Things are looking a little brighter for battery startup Envia Systems, as three of the company’s former executives dropped a lawsuit with little explanation. The suit, which was filed last November, alleged that co-founder and CTO Sujeet Kumar created the company using intellectual property that he stole from his previous employer, a nanotech startup called… Read more »
Samsung invests in graphene manufacturer XG Sciences
Samsung Ventures Investment Corporation has invested an undisclosed amount in graphene manufacturer XG Sciences, which the company will use to fund additional R&D. Lansing, Michigan-based XG Sciences manufactures energy storage materials based on the company’s xGnP graphene nanoplatelets and XG Leaf graphene sheet products. Last April, the company launched graphene-stabilized silicon anode materials for Li-ion… Read more »
Former Secretary of Energy Steven Chu joins board of Amprius
Dr. Steven Chu, a Nobel Prize winner in Physics and the former US Secretary of Energy, has joined the Board of Directors of Amprius, a developer of lithium-ion batteries with operations in California and China. Amprius, co-founded by Stanford Professor Yi Cui, introduced its first generation of batteries in May 2013, and it is now… Read more »
LG Chem secures international patents for its safety-reinforced battery separator
LG Chem, the world’s largest lithium-ion battery maker, has obtained a patent for its safety-reinforced separator (SRS) in Europe and Japan. The company already has patents for the technology in South Korea, the US and China. The separator is an important component of lithium-ion polymer batteries, separating the negative and positive poles to prevent internal… Read more »
South Korean team develops coated LMO cathode that lasts longer at high temperatures
The quest for the better battery involves ongoing research on improving and optimizing materials used for lithium-ion cells. One such material is LiMn2O4 (LMO), which offers high power and low cost, but cell life at high temperatures can be problematic. In a paper in Nano Letters, a team from the Ulsan National Institute of Science… Read more »
New microscopy technique gives researchers a better look inside batteries
Electricity may seem invisible, but storing it in batteries has some very physical effects. As a battery is charged and discharged, electrons and ions rush around from place to place, sometimes causing electrodes to change their shapes over time. As researchers experiment with improved electrode materials, it’s critical to get a microscopic view of what… Read more »
Envia bungles battery breakthrough as former CEO sues and GM jumps ship
Back in 2012, battery startup Envia was the toast of Silicon Valley. Its innovative battery technology had achieved the highest energy density ever recorded for a lithium-ion cell – a breakthrough that could halve the costs of EV batteries – and the company already had a deal to supply cells to GM. Today, the company… Read more »
Researchers demonstrate major advance in lithium-sulfur battery chemistry
Researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have demonstrated a lithium-sulfur (Li/S) battery that has more than twice the specific energy of current lithium-ion batteries, and that lasts for more than 1,500 charge/discharge cycles with minimal capacity loss. This is the longest cycle life yet reported for any lithium-sulfur battery. The results were reported in the… Read more »
MIT team uses virus to make a better lithium-oxygen battery
Researchers around the world have taken up the quest for a better battery, and lithium-air is one of the many promising routes to the Grail. This week, a team from MIT described an improved way to make nanowires for a lithium-air battery electrode using – of all things – viruses. “Biologically enhanced cathode design for… Read more »