Researchers at MIT have come up with a new pulsed laser deposition technique to make thinner lithium electrolytes using less heat, which they say promises faster charging and potentially higher-voltage solid-state lithium-ion batteries. Key to the new technique for processing the solid-state battery electrolyte is alternating layers of the active electrolyte lithium garnet component (LLZO)… Read more »
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Sumitomo and Kansai University develop technology to generate power from static electricity in tires
Sumitomo and Professor Hiroshi Tani of Kansai University have developed a new technology to generate electricity from the rotation of a tire. By installing a power generating device (or Energy Harvester) inside a tire, researchers were able to convert static electricity into clean energy. The new device, which Sumitomo calls the ‘SMART TYRE CONCEPT’, takes… Read more »
Mayors from 127 cities commit to purchase over 2,100 EVs by 2020
Mayors from 127 cities joined the Climate Mayors EV Purchasing Collaborative during the Climate Mayors Summit in Honolulu, Hawaii last month, committing to purchasing more than 2,100 EVs by 2020. To assist in the transition towards electric school buses, the Collaborative announced it will place a competitive bid on electric school buses by the end… Read more »
Proterra and Mitsui create $200-million credit to scale battery leasing program for electric buses
Electric bus manufacturer Proterra has partnered with Japanese conglomerate Mitsui to create a $200-million credit to scale up Proterra’s battery leasing program. Proterra customers will be able to purchase an electric bus and lease the batteries over the 12-year lifetime of the bus. Through the battery lease, Proterra says the initial capital expense for the… Read more »
MIT creates hybrid cathode designed to boost energy capacity of Li batteries
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and in China say they’ve developed a new version of the cathode. The researchers describe the cathode as a “hybrid,” since it combines aspects of intercalation-type and conversion-type cathodes to increase gravimetric energy density (per-pound energy output) and volumetric energy density (per-liter energy output). The cathode has… Read more »
Tesla revises pricing options, reintroduces software-limited battery packs
After Tesla recently discontinued the 75 kWh versions of Models S and X, some speculated that it was a precursor to replacing the battery pack used in those models with a redesigned pack based on the newer 2170 cells used in Model 3. However, that doesn’t seem to be in the cards for the moment… Read more »
Sumitomo Electric’s new generation of SiC transistors offer low on-state resistance
Sumitomo Electric’s new V-groove superjunction transistors, which it developed through a joint research project with the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) use silicon carbide (SiC) semiconductors, and the company claims they offer the lowest on-state resistance yet achieved in an SiC transistor. Sumitomo has already developed V-groove MOSFETs that use a… Read more »
Mitsubishi Electric’s new energy-management system uses EVs to manage power generation
Mitsubishi Electric has developed an energy-management system capable of scheduling EV charging, discharging back into the grid, and optimizing the operation of PV and other power-generation systems according to the fluctuating unit price of electricity sold on the grid. A demonstration of the technology is underway at the company’s automotive factory in Changshu, China. The cost… Read more »
MIT wins $1.89-million DOE research grant for one-step electrochemical copper extraction from sulfur-based minerals
MIT Associate Professor of Metallurgy Antoine Allanore’s lab has received a nearly $2-million dollar grant to further develop copper collection methods from molten sulfur-based minerals using electricity. The resultant high-purity copper could be used in the production of high-quality wire used in growing markets like renewable energy and EVs. Current pyrometallurgy methods are tedious: sulfide… Read more »
Regenerative braking: A closer look at the methods and limits of regen
All motors are generators, the old saying goes, with the caveat that few types are equally good at both modes of operation, and some are downright awful as generators (a classic example being the single-phase shaded pole induction type, used in myriad small appliances the world over). Fortunately, both types of AC motor commonly used… Read more »