News

April 29, 2015

Eguana and LG Chem Partner on Residential Energy Storage System

Tesla may have some competition in the residential storage market. Battery giant LG Chem has partnered with Eguana Technologies to develop a modular energy storage system called AC Battery. AC Battery is targeted at homeowners who want to store electricity from solar panels for later use. However it could also […]
April 28, 2015

Continental Announces New Generation of Power Electronics

While batteries and motors tend to get most of the press, a vehicle’s power electronics is just as important to the overall efficiency of a powertrain, and thus to its range and performance. International automotive supplier Continental, which produces power electronics components for five European automakers, has announced that its next-generation […]
April 28, 2015

Tesla Batteries Already Powering Wal-Marts

Tesla’s new residential and utility-scale batteries, which have the potential to revolutionize the energy market, are expected to be publicly unveiled this week. Invitations to the April 30th event teased the new product line as “the missing piece.” The company has been quietly installing systems for a while now – […]
April 27, 2015

Maxwell Technologies Introduces 24-volt Versions of Ultracapacitor-Based Engine Start Module

As every truck driver or heavy equipment operator knows, diesel engines can be difficult to start in low temperatures, or after not being started for long periods. Maxwell Technologies’ Engine Start Module (ESM) is an ultracapacitor-based system that takes over the engine cranking function and remains fully charged, even if […]
April 25, 2015

LG Chem Trying To Steal Tesla’s Home Battery Storage Thunder?

Branding is one thing Tesla has absolutely nailed. Well, one of many things. This week (or month) provided a rather obvious example of that for me. But first, a little background: As I think anyone who follows Tesla rather closely knows, Panasonic is Tesla’s big battery partner. That makes it the top […]
April 23, 2015

New Imaging Technique Displays the Advantages of Iron Fluoride Batteries

“Iron fluoride has the potential to triple the amount of energy a conventional lithium-ion battery can store,” says Song Jin, a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “However, we have yet to tap its true potential.” Jin and his colleagues have been using a novel X-ray imaging technique […]
April 10, 2015

A123 Shifts Focus to Starter Batteries

Since battery-maker A123 was acquired by China’s Wanxiang Group, it has shifted its focus to concentrate on starter batteries, and has big plans to produce batteries for microhybrids, aka start-stop systems. A quarter of the company’s revenue still comes from EV battery packs – its factory in Hangzhou is running […]
April 8, 2015

Chinese Automaker BYD to Triple Production of Batteries

Chinese automaker BYD aims to be a major player in the battery business, adding 6 gigawatt-hours of global production in each of the next three years, company spokesman Matthew Jurjevich told Reuters recently. If it continues at that pace, BYD’s capacity will be some 34 GWh of batteries by the beginning […]
April 8, 2015

PATHION’s Superionic Solid-State Electrolytes Point to More Powerful and Safer Batteries

Solid-state electrolytes are the talk of the town these days. California-based PATHION has been working to commercialize solid electrolytes since its founding in 2012, building on its exclusive license from Los Alamos National Laboratories for a promising material called Lithium-Rich Anti-Perovskite (LiRAP). At the recent Materials Research Conference, PATHION presented two new […]
April 4, 2015

Thermal Battery Could Heat and Cool a Vehicle Without Using Electricity

EV heating and cooling presents a dilemma: how to keep a vehicle’s occupants comfortable without draining the battery? Engineers are working on various solutions, from heat pumps and adsorption chillers to passenger-focused AC and heat. A group of researchers from the University of Utah, HRL Laboratories and GM Global R&D […]
April 2, 2015

Tesla Courting Japanese Battery Suppliers For Possible 2nd Gigafactory

With the development process of the first gigafactory apparently going quite smoothly, Tesla Motors is apparently already busy courting Japanese battery suppliers with regard to a potential second gigafactory. This possible second gigafactory would of course be located outside of North America, and seems quite sensible in many ways. Considering […]
April 2, 2015

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 […]