Batteries

Battery powered cars will play a major role in future of mobility. What was not known so far, was how environmentally friendly the manufacture, operation and disposal of the batteries are. Researchers have now calculated the ecological footprint of the most commonly used type, the lithium-ion battery. A car with a petrol engine must consume less than 4 liters of fuel per 100km or about 70 mpg (miles per gallon) in order to be as environmentally friendly as modern electric cars.

Scientists are reporting the development of a new battery-like device that opens the possibility that people one day could "recharge" cell phones, laptops, and other portable electronics in an unlikely way -- with a sugar fix from a shared sip of soda pop or even a dose of vegetable oil.

Scientists report progress in using a common virus to develop improved materials for high-performance, rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that could be woven into clothing to power portable electronic devices.

A little wax and soap can help build electrodes for cheaper lithium ion batteries, according to a new study. The one-step method will allow battery developers to explore lower-priced alternatives to the lithium ion-metal oxide batteries currently on the market.

Electric and hybrid vehicles will take over the cities: cars, bicycles, buses and streetcars. New concepts are needed for individual and local public transportation. In the large-scale project, researchers in Germany are developing solutions for mobility of the future. The first results have now been presented.

Surface tension isn't a very powerful force, but it matters for small things -- water bugs, paint, and, it turns out, nanowires.

Batteries might gain a boost in power capacity as a result of a new finding. Researchers found that using carbon nanotubes for one of the battery's electrodes produced a significant increase -- up to tenfold -- in the amount of power it could deliver from a given weight of material, compared to a conventional lithium-ion battery. Such electrodes might find applications in small portable devices, and with further research might also lead to improved batteries for larger, more power-hungry applications.

Scientists are making discoveries on the thermodynamic properties of transition metal oxides such as insulators and superconductors.

If battery-making is an art, then University at Buffalo scientist Esther Takeuchi is among its most prolific masters, with more than 140 US patents, all in energy storage. Takeuchi developed the battery that made possible the first implantable cardiac defibrillators, a feat that was recognized last fall with the National Medal of Technology and Innovation from President Obama. Millions of heart patients worldwide have benefited from the implantable cardiac defibrillators powered by Takeuchi's silver vanadium oxide battery. With funding from the National Institutes of Health, she is developing new cathode materials for improved implantable cardiac defibrillator batteries.

Students driving an electric supercar are attempting to be the first to drive an all-electric vehicle around the M25 twice on one battery charge, in the lead-up to the team's attempt to cross the Americas in July this year and break a world record.

Scientists have developed a simple, accurate way of "seeing" chemistry in action inside a lithium-ion battery.

Researchers have developed a unique new technique for integrating high performance micro-sized supercapacitors into a variety of portable electronic devices through common microfabrication techniques. Featuring high power densities and rapid-fire cycle times, these new supercapacitors have the potential to substantially boost the performance and longevity of portable electric energy storage devices.

Battery systems, chargers, wheel hub motors -- in the cars of the future, what will the components look like, and how will they interact with each other? Researchers are engineering the parts for electric vehicles and testing them on "Frecc0," their demonstration vehicle.

GE and Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM) are collaborating on research that could help to optimize charging and discharging of high-performance batteries. Initial studies focus on a rechargeable sodium/iron chloride battery designed to power hybrid locomotives. Two instruments at TUM's research neutron source reveal the distribution of chemical substances within the battery during various states of charge. Researchers plan to extend this approach to real-time analysis of charging and discharging cycles, with even greater precision.

A new high-performance anode structure based on silicon-carbon nanocomposite materials could significantly improve the performance of lithium-ion batteries used in a wide range of applications from hybrid vehicles to portable electronics.

Researchers have made significant progress on a technology that could lead to batteries with up to three times the energy density of any battery that currently exists.

Neither sun, nor mud, nor atypically warm March weather in northern Michigan could keep three hardy entries from completing the Endurance Run at the 2010 SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge.

Scientists have discovered a previously unknown phenomenon that can cause powerful waves of energy to shoot through minuscule wires known as carbon nanotubes. The discovery could lead to a new way of producing electricity, the researchers say.

Engineers have manufactured new energy storage devices out of paper and cloth, with a range of potential applications. Their research also has shown that using silicon nanowires to replace carbon anodes in lithium ion batteries can significantly improve their performance.

Think of it as the end of cars' slacker days: no more sitting idle for hours in parking lots or garages racking up payments, but instead earning their keep by helping store power for the electricity grid.

The surface area and conductivity of a lattice-like Nanonet coated with silicon particles proves to be a high-performing anode material for Lithium-ion batteries, researchers report.

A newly developed 9 cubic millimeter solar-powered sensor system is the smallest that can harvest energy from its surroundings to operate nearly perpetually.

Diamonds and gold may make some hearts flutter on Valentine's Day, but in one laboratory, silver nanoparticles are being designed to do just the opposite.

Scientists report a 2.4GHz/915MHz wake-up receiver which consumes only 51µW power. This record low power achievement opens the door to battery-less or energy-harvesting based radios for a wide range of applications including long-range RFID and wireless sensor nodes for logistics, smart buildings, healthcare etc.

Parts of a cars bodywork could one day double up as its battery, according to the scientists behind a new project in the UK.