News

About a month ago, BMW CEO Harold Krueger surprised the EV world by casually mentioning in an interview with Die Zeit that in 2016 the i3 would have increased range. That of course sparked a lot of online speculation as to how BMW would accomplish this. Did it figure out a way to […]

The DOE has announced a new batch of topics for the 2016 Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) programs. Under the SBIR and STTR programs, federal agencies set aside portions of their R&D budgets for small businesses. Companies that win awards keep the rights to any […]

New fast-charging lithium-in batteries were recently unveiled by workers from Watt Lab — an arm of the Central Research Institute at Huawei Technology Corporation — at the recent 56th Battery Symposium in Japan, according to recent reports. The newly unveiled batteries reportedly charge ~10 times faster than conventional lithium-ion batteries […]

Daimler, together with partners The Mobility House and GETEC, has built what it says is the world’s largest second-life battery storage unit. The stationary storage unit is to go into service at the beginning of 2016 at the site of REMONDIS, a recycling, service and water company in the German town […]

Researchers from the University of Waterloo and GM’s Global Research and Development Center have developed a new silicon-based anode material that they say could enable batteries with almost 10 times more energy density than today’s state of the art. In “Evidence of covalent synergy in silicon–sulfur–graphene yielding highly efficient and […]

California-based Enevate Corporation has announced an “ultrafast charging” feature for its batteries, which has been demonstrated to provide a 90% charge in 15 minutes while increasing capacity compared to current Li-ion batteries. Enevate’s HD-Energy Technology uses silicon-dominant composite anodes, and the company claims an 25-50% increase in energy density over […]

Cambridge scientists have developed a working demonstrator of a lithium-oxygen battery that is more than 90% efficient, and can be recharged more than 2,000 times. Lithium-oxygen, or lithium-air, has been touted as the ultimate battery technology, because its theoretical energy density is ten times that of lithium-ion solutions. In “Cycling […]

Most Charged readers will certainly remember A123, the company that was founded in 2001 on the basis of promising battery technology developed at MIT; received a $249-million grant from the DOE and $100 million in tax breaks from the state of Michigan; raised $380 million in a 2009 IPO; made […]

Tesla has confirmed that it has a contract with South Korean firm LG Chem to provide batteries for Roadster 3.0, a package of range-enhancing improvements for Tesla’s famous first vehicle. The company began taking orders for the $29,000 upgrade in September. Until this announcement, Tesla’s only known battery supplier was […]

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 […]

Tesla’s Chief Technology Officer JB Straubel gave a talk at the University of Nevada in Reno this week, as the company announced a new internship program and an investment of $1 million in the university’s battery research program. Saying that the transition to a truly sustainable world won’t be accomplished […]