The electrolytes in advanced batteries are based on incredibly complicated formulations. If you calculated all of the possible combinations of solvents, salts and additives while trying to find the optimal ratios for just one electrolyte formulation, it would add up to an extraordinary number of possibilities. Because it plays such a critical role in battery… Read more »
Search Results Found For: "Solid-state batteries"
ARPA-E awards $6.6 million to two projects for solid-state battery electrolytes
The DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) has awarded $125 million to 41 energy-related R&D projects under its 2015 OPEN funding program. Two of these have to do with ceramic electrolytes for solid-state EV batteries. A consortium led by the University of Michigan won $3.5 million for a project called “Transitioning Advanced Ceramic… Read more »
Hitachi researchers demonstrate thermally durable solid-state Li-ion battery
A research team sponsored by Hitachi and Tohoku University’s Advanced Institute for Material Research (AIMR) has demonstrated technology that reduces the internal resistance of all-solid-state Li-ion batteries through the use of LiBH4-based complex hydrides as solid electrolytes. A conventional Li-ion battery uses a volatile organic electrolyte solution with a maximum operating temperature around 60˚ C…. Read more »
Liquid or solid-state? Clay electrolyte offers the best features of both
Bentonite clay is a malleable material with myriad applications, from oil drilling to agriculture to construction. Now researchers at Rice University have taken advantage of its qualities to develop a new class of Li-ion battery electrolytes that offer the structural stability of a solid and the wettability of a liquid. In “Quasi-Solid Electrolytes for High… Read more »
Vacuum maker Dyson acquires solid-state battery pioneer Sakti3
Dyson, the manufacturer of high-tech vacuum cleaners and restroom hand dryers, has acquired Michigan startup Sakti3 for $90 million in cash, as reported by Quartz. Founder and CEO Ann Marie Sastry will oversee development of her company’s solid-state battery technology as an executive for Dyson. UK-based Dyson, which invested $15 million in Sakti3 last March, also… Read more »
Solid-state battery innovator Seeo acquired by Bosch
Giant German automotive supplier Bosch has announced that it will acquire the Silicon Valley startup Seeo, a pioneer in solid-state battery technology. Seeo’s cell design combines a solid lithium metal anode with a conventional porous lithium iron phosphate cathode and Seeo’s proprietary DryLite solid polymer electrolyte. Seeo says its cells achieve specific energy of around… Read more »
Chemists discover key reaction in sodium- oxygen batteries
Chemists at Canada’s University of Waterloo have described a key mediation pathway that explains why sodium-oxygen batteries are more energy-efficient compared with their lithium-oxygen counterparts. “Our new understanding brings together a lot of different, disconnected bits of a puzzle that have allowed us to assemble the full picture,” says Professor Linda Nazar. “These findings will… Read more »
Stanford team improves potential of solid-state electrolytes by enhancing ionic conductivity
Solid-state electrolytes’ potential advantages in energy density and safety compared with conventional liquid electrolytes have made them the hottest topic in the battery world. However, there are several challenges to be overcome, including the low mobility of lithium ions in solid electrolytes. Now, a team of Stanford researchers have used ceramic nanowire fillers to enhance… Read more »
VW may use solid-state battery in its next-generation EV
Volkswagen has acquired a 5% stake in US battery startup QuantumScape, with an option to buy more, and it is evaluating the company’s solid-state battery tech with an eye to using it in VW’s next generation of EVs. Last November, Volkswagen Group CEO Martin Winterkorn said he saw “great potential” in solid-state batteries, which potentially… Read more »
Dyson invests $15 million in solid-state battery-maker Sakti3
Dyson, a manufacturer of high-tech vacuum cleaners, fans, restroom hand dryers and other nifty gadgets, has invested $15 million in Sakti3, a Michigan-based developer of solid-state battery technology. As CEO Ann Marie Sastry explained in a panel discussion last November, solid-state batteries theoretically offer higher energy density than current Li-ion designs, and could also be… Read more »