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 »
Search Results Found For: "Performance Team "
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 »
Nanoscale probe offers a close-up view of chemical reactions in batteries
Although the material in a battery electrode may look uniform to the naked eye, at the atomic level, it’s a diverse landscape. Tiny variations in materials can affect reaction rates, and thus battery performance, in complex ways. Professor Jiangyu Li and his colleagues at the University of Washington have built a new tool that could… Read more »
Wolfspeed introduces all-SiC half-bridge power module and gate driver combination
Wolfspeed, a Cree company, has introduced a fully-qualified all-SiC commercial power module. The 62 mm module is designed to offer high efficiency and power density for high-current power electronics such as converters/inverters, motor drives and other EV components. According to Wolfspeed, the new module achieves efficiency of over 98%, allowing system designers to realize systems… Read more »
From racing cars to street sweepers: Williams collaborates with Wille on electric platforms
Williams Advanced Engineering is famous for its high-performance powertrains – it’s involved in building the Jaguar C-X75 hybrid supercar and an Aston Martin electric concept, as well as supplying batteries for the Formula E electric racing series. The company’s expertise about combining energy efficiency and performance can be applied to more prosaic vehicles as well…. Read more »
New study identifies one culprit behind Li-sulfur battery capacity fade
Lithium-sulfur batteries theoretically offer high energy density, and are widely seen as a promising next-generation energy storage system. However – you guessed it – they have several drawbacks. Among other issues, capacity tends to fade quickly. Researchers at the DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have identified one of the reasons behind this problem, and found… Read more »
Graphene cages could be the key to silicon anodes
Battery boffins are buzzing about silicon anodes, which could store up to 10 times more energy than today’s anodes. The catch is that silicon particles tend to swell and crack during cycling, and to react with the electrolyte in unwanted ways. Now a team from Stanford University and the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator… Read more »
Motorola invests in magnesium-ion battery startup Pellion
Motorola Solutions has invested an unspecified amount in Pellion Technologies, a startup that was founded by a team of MIT researchers. Pellion is focused on commercializing magnesium-ion battery technology. Because magnesium is divalent, it can displace double the charge per ion that lithium can, and the element is more abundant and more stable. Magnesium-ion batteries… Read more »
A possible key to Li-sulfur batteries: highly crumpled nitrogen-doped graphene sheets
Researchers at Pennsylvania State University have developed a promising new technique that may be able to overcome some of the challenges inherent to lithium-sulfur batteries. In “Advanced Sulfur Cathode Enabled by Highly Crumpled Nitrogen-Doped Graphene Sheets for High-Energy-Density Lithium-Sulfur Batteries,” published in Nano Letters, Jiangxuan Song and colleagues explain how they synthesized highly crumpled nitrogen-doped… Read more »