The DOE’s EV Everywhere initiative, announced in 2012, has set goals of bringing EV battery costs down to $125 per kilowatt-hour, and electric drive system costs to $8 per kilowatt. To help make this a reality, the feds are investing some $59 million in 35 research projects around the country. One of these is led… Read more »
Search Results Found For: "Performance Team "
ARPA-E awards $3.5 million to develop ultra-high-energy density batteries
The DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) has awarded $3.5 million in funding to a team that includes 24M, Sepion Technologies, Berkeley Lab, and Carnegie Mellon University. The funds will be used to develop novel membranes and lithium-metal anodes for a new generation of high-energy-density batteries. 24M’s core technology is semi-solid lithium-ion, a new class… Read more »
MIT researchers discover two forms of lithium dendrite formation
Battery researchers around the world are working on lithium metal electrodes, which have the potential to greatly increase energy density. But the drawback to lithium in this form comes in the form of dendrites, root-like lithium deposits that form on the metal surface and can harm performance and even lead to short circuits. Now a… Read more »
Ethylene carbonate-free electrolytes promise less oxidation and better-performing Li-ion cells
A team led by celebrated battery boffin Professor Jeff Dahn at Dalhousie University has demonstrated that a common electrolyte additive is detrimental for Li-ion cells at high voltages, and suggest some alternatives. Dahn and his team discuss their latest work in two papers: “Enabling linear alkyl carbonate electrolytes for high voltage Li-ion cells,” published in… Read more »
New separator membrane could enable faster charging, eliminate thermal runaway
Researchers from Ohio State University have designed a thin plastic membrane that could improve the charging speed of current batteries, and possibly enable a new type of battery as well. In a study published in the journal Energy & Environmental Science, assistant professor Vishnu-Baba Sundaresan and doctoral student Travis Hery argue that current battery designs… Read more »
Rimac Automobili invents the Croatian auto industry
Detroit is gradually losing its position as the epicenter of the auto industry. Nowadays, news of cutting-edge developments is more likely to come from Silicon Valley, Europe or China. The Eastern European nation of Croatia is pretty far from the centers of automotive power, but it’s here that a highly innovative firm called Rimac Automobili… Read more »
Edorado Marine’s new electric hydrofoil powerboat
After two years of market research, design, and product development, Netherlands-based Edorado Marine has revealed its new zero-emission powerboat. The Edorado 7S uses a unique hydrofoil design that allows it to ride above the water with very low drag, which increases maximum speed and range. Tom Speer, who is also part of America’s Cup Team… Read more »
Peugeot Citroen evaluates free-piston linear generator for range extender
PSA Group, the maker of the Peugeot, Citroen and DS brands, is preparing to test a free-piston linear generator from Israeli startup Aquarius Engines as a range extender for its EVs. “We are evaluating the technology,” said PSA Research and Development Director Gilles Le Borgne. “Nothing has been decided yet.” The free-piston linear generator has… Read more »
Researchers increase energy density of cathode by controlling oxygen activity
An international team of researchers has demonstrated a new way to improve the performance of lithium-rich cathode materials by creating oxygen vacancies at the material’s surface. In “Gas-solid interfacial modification of oxygen activity in layered oxide cathodes for lithium-ion batteries,” published in Nature Communications, Minghao Zhang and colleagues explain the importance of oxygen atoms in… Read more »
Swiss researchers enhance Li-ion batteries with improved electrode design
Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute and ETH Zurich in Switzerland have developed a simple procedure that they say can enhance the performance of Li-ion batteries by improving the design of the electrodes without changing the underlying chemistry. In “Magnetically aligned graphite electrodes for high rate performance Li-ion batteries,” published in Nature Energy, Juliette Billaud… Read more »