Search Results Found For: "our next energy"

New report: Wide bandgap technology can make power conversion 90% more efficient

Wide Bandgap (WBG) semiconductor technologies are attracting a lot of attention, and research funding. In January, the Obama administration selected a consortium of businesses and universities to lead an innovation institute focused on WBG materials. Japan and the UK are also funding R&D in the field. A new report from Lux Research, Silicon vs. WBG:… Read more »

Research team uses MRI to examine the inner workings of supercapacitors

A team of chemists from New York University and the University of Cambridge has developed a method for examining the inner workings of supercapacitors. Their technique, based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), offers a way to monitor and possibly enhance the performance of such devices. The work, which appears in the latest issue of the… Read more »

CALEB and CalBattery join forces to develop new silicon-graphene anode battery

CALEB Technology and California Lithium Battery (CalBattery) have agreed to establish a joint venture to produce a new line of high-performance lithium-ion batteries, which will be manufactured in the Los Angeles area starting in 2016. The first generation of batteries will be aimed at the consumer electronics market, but the second generation will also be… Read more »

BMW and Samsung expand supply agreement for battery cells

BMW and Samsung SDI plan to expand their supply relationship for EV battery cells. The two companies have signed a memorandum of understanding that includes an increase in quantities delivered as well as further technological development of battery cells. BMW produces high-voltage batteries for the i3, i8 and other future hybrid vehicles at its plant… Read more »

White House response to pro-Tesla petition (a year later): We can’t pre-empt state law

Remember that petition that circulated a year ago, asking the White House to intervene in the War of the Car Lots, and allow Tesla to sell its vehicles directly to consumers? An answer finally came this week and, as expected, it merely states that the federal government has no authority in the matter. The official response,… Read more »

Toyota researchers develop all-solid-state Li-ion batteries

As Toyota plans to bring a fuel cell vehicle to market in 2015, its researchers continue to work on next-generation battery technologies. In a presentation at the International Meeting on Lithium Batteries in Como, Italy, Dr. Hideki Iba from Toyota’s Battery Research Division and Dr. Chihiro Yada from Toyota Motor Europe’s Advanced Technology Group noted… Read more »

Ford and Samsung research lithium-ion/lead-acid dual-battery system

Electric powertrain technology is gradually creeping into legacy gas-powered vehicles. Ford and Samsung have announced that they are researching a dual-battery system that combines a lithium-ion battery with a 12-volt lead-acid battery in order to enable regenerative braking technology in non-hybrid vehicles. “We are currently expanding our Auto Start-Stop technology across 70 percent of our… Read more »

Wildcat’s new copper fluoride cathode material offers 2.5x more capacity than today’s battery tech

The current generation of lithium-ion battery materials is quickly approaching its theoretical limit. In commercial layered oxide cathodes, like the popular nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC), there is only one lithium ion for every metal. So, the most energy you could possibly store with those materials is one full lithium in and out, or about 300 mAh per… Read more »