News

October 8, 2015

Scrap Tires Transformed Into Supercapacitor Electrodes

Some of the 300 million tires discarded each year in the US could be recycled and used in electrodes for supercapacitors, using a new technology developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Drexel University. The process is described in a paper published in ChemSusChem, titled “Waste Tire Derived Carbon-Polymer Composite […]
September 30, 2015

Formula E Battery Power Increasing to 170 kW for Season Two

Williams Advanced Engineering, the supplier of the battery packs for the Formula E electric racing series, has announced that the maximum power output of the racers’ batteries will increase to 170 kW for season two of the Championship. The battery packs use cells from XALT Energy, and have maximum usable […]
September 23, 2015

Tesla Tweaks its Battery Chemistry: a Closer Look at Silicon Anode Development

In mid-July, Tesla Motors made a trio of Model S update announcements. The new options included a 70 kWh rear-wheel-drive base model, an upgrade for the high-end battery pack from 85 to 90 kWh (providing about a 6% increase in range), and Ludicrous mode, which offers a 10% improvement in […]
September 21, 2015

Freescale Introduces New Lithium-Ion Battery Cell Controller

Lithium-ion chemistries are increasingly replacing lead-acid automotive batteries, especially in start-stop and energy recuperation systems, and they are even making inroads into starter battery applications. Electronics such as Freescale Semiconductor’s battery cell controllers are used to manage risks such as overcharge, overheating and internal short circuits. Now Freescale has introduced […]
September 17, 2015

Lux Research: Infineon is a “Clear Winner” in Power Electronics Field

Batteries get most of the press, but power electronics (gadgets like inverters, onboard chargers and DC/DC converters) are critical components of all sorts of electrified vehicles as well as high-tech energy solutions. As the electromobility/clean energy sector grows, leading companies in the power electronics field could be poised for major […]
September 16, 2015

2016 Cadillacs to Use Maxwell Ultracapacitors in Start-Stop System

Start-stop vehicles (SSVs, if you will) occupy the bottom rung of the electrification ladder, and they’re growing in importance as global OEMs search for ways to meet tightening emissions standards (anything other than selling EVs, it sometimes seems). Over 40 percent of new cars sold in Europe already incorporate start-stop […]
September 10, 2015

New Hollow-Structured Nanomaterial Greatly Reduces Volumetric Expansion in Anodes

Battery tech startup Lionano has announced an agreement with Cornell University’s Center for Technology Licensing (CTL) to develop and produce a “drop-in” anode material for Li-ion batteries. The new material is a hollow-structured metal oxide that can substantially reduce the volumetric expansion of a conventional anode. According to Lionano, it […]
August 31, 2015

Tesla Locks Up Long-Term Lithium Supply

To produce EVs, you need batteries. To build batteries, you need lithium. That’s why Tesla has signed a long-term contract with a pair of mining companies to supply lithium hydroxide from a site in northern Mexico. Bacanora Minerals Ltd and Rare Earth Minerals PLC are partners in a joint venture […]
August 26, 2015

European ALISE Collaboration Aims to Commercialize Lithium-Sulfur Batteries

A coalition of European manufacturers and research institutes has launched ALISE (Advanced Lithium Sulfur battery for EVs), a collaborative effort to develop and commercialize lithium-sulfur technology. The objective of the 7-million-Euro ($7.6 million) project is to achieve a stable 500 Wh/kg Li-S cell by 2019. The final deliverable of the […]
August 23, 2015

New Report On EV Battery Market Details Potential Path For LG Chem EV Battery Growth

A new report from Lux Research makes the argument that LG Chem could supplant Panasonic as the leader of the growing electric vehicle (EV) battery market, and details the potential path to that happening. That report — “Watch the Throne: How LG Chem and Others Can Take Panasonic’s EV Battery […]
August 20, 2015

Korean Battery-Maker SK Innovation Doubles roduction Capacity

  SK Innovation, a unit of SK Group, is a small fish in a sea of Asian battery suppliers like Panasonic, Samsung and LG, but its automotive customer base is growing, and it is rapidly ramping up production. Since the Korean firm opened its battery plant in Seosan in 2012, […]
August 20, 2015

New Process Recycles Rare Earth Element From Scrap Magnets

Rare earth elements, prized for their magnetic properties, are used in a wide range of modern technology, including advanced electric motors. Unfortunately, they are expensive, and some are available only from problematic parts of the world. To make it easier to recover and recycle rare earth minerals, the DOE’s Critical […]