News

November 16, 2015

Batteries That Charge ~10 Times Faster

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 […]
November 9, 2015

Daimler Uses Smart EV Battery Packs in German Electricity Balancing Market

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 […]
November 6, 2015

Researchers Develop New Silicon-Sulfur-Graphene Electrode Material

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 […]
November 5, 2015

Enevate Says its Batteries Can Charge 5-10 Times Faster Than Conventional Li-ion

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 […]
November 3, 2015

Cambridge Scientists Claim Promising Lithium-Oxygen Battery Advancements

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 […]
November 2, 2015

Under New Chinese Owners, A123 Finds Promising Niche in Micro-Hybrid Market

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 […]
October 31, 2015

Samsung Opens Lithium-Ion Battery Factory In China

An inauguration ceremony for Samsung SDI’s newly completed electric vehicle battery production facility in the Gaoxin Industrial District in Xi’an, in Shaanxi Province, China, was recently held by the Korean company. Worth noting here is that Samsung SDI is now the first “top” battery manufacturer to develop an electric vehicle […]
October 28, 2015

LG Chem to Supply Battery Upgrade for Tesla Roadster

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 […]
October 26, 2015

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 […]
October 22, 2015

Tesla Shifts Focus to Model 3 as Engineers Prepare to Start Work at the Gigafactory

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 […]
October 16, 2015

Bosch: 50 kWh Battery, Just 190 Kilograms

The German company Bosch is apparently aiming to, over the coming years, create a 50 kilowatt-hour (kWh) battery for use in electric vehicles that only weighs 190 kilograms, based on recent comments made by a company researcher. Considering the amount of money that the company is currently pumping into related […]
October 14, 2015

PowerAmerica Offers Funding for Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Projects

PowerAmerica, a private-public partnership led by North Carolina State University, has released a call for projects to advance wide bandgap (WBG) semiconductor technology. Funding is available for projects to accelerate commercialization of WBG power electronics applications in high voltage systems, efficient motors and other transportation- and renewable energy-related fields. Objectives […]