Thread for new battery breakthrough PR releases

There is no such thing as an aluminium mine. Aluminium is made from bauxite plus an enormous amount of energy. While it may be a portable fuel source once made, it, at present, has an appalling carbon footprint if made from coal fired power stations. It is also expensive to make.........
 
speedmd said:
Aluminum /bauxite is one of the earths most plentiful materials. As long as the power source used to make it comes mainly from renewables/ geothermal, it would be a very energy dense solution for light weight transportation.
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Yeah I thought I remember seeing a big hydro aluminum plant somewhere on discovery channel, the idea is to use only hydro power to make the aluminum so its green and cheap.
They are looking at building a big hydro powered aluminum plant in Greenland, http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-15/greenland-courting-alcoa-to-build-smelter-finance-minister-says.html
 
Unfortunately hydro power may not be as "green" as we would like. Damming rivers can have secondary effects that aren't very good for the environment in other ways then carbon. The Chinese 3 rivers is just one example. The Snowy river in Oz and some of the US major dams have had bad effects downstream are others. There are some scientists concerned about the effects of large bodies of water in affecting the local climate around them and even contributing to climate change through evaporation. In fact I think the US has just agreed to free water for Mexican use on the Colorado R. I think this Al system could be good as a portable power source but we have to be careful what side effcets may arise. Ammonia is looking as a good posible alternative to petrol at the moment but then so did H a few years ago.
 
Gregb said:
Unfortunately hydro power may not be as "green" as we would like. Damming rivers can have secondary effects that aren't very good for the environment in other ways then carbon. The Chinese 3 rivers is just one example. The Snowy river in Oz and some of the US major dams have had bad effects downstream are others. There are some scientists concerned about the effects of large bodies of water in affecting the local climate around them and even contributing to climate change through evaporation. In fact I think the US has just agreed to free water for Mexican use on the Colorado R. I think this Al system could be good as a portable power source but we have to be careful what side effcets may arise. Ammonia is looking as a good posible alternative to petrol at the moment but then so did H a few years ago.
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As an EUropeean i still have the disaster in my mind.
Battery with sun and wind FTW.
 
Ammonia (NH3) is a great source for hydrogen and plentiful in sewer treatment and farming facilities and is being exploited in spots. For renewables, Hydro is no longer being pushed for many of the reasons mentioned. Wind, solar and in places geothermal look to be our better solutions.

Seawater?
http://www.ibtimes.com/goodbye-oil-us-navy-cracks-new-renewable-energy-technology-turn-seawater-fuel-allowing-1568455
http://news.yahoo.com/us-navy-game-changer-converting-seawater-fuel-150544958.html
 
TheBeastie said:
If I understood it right to "recharge" the battery you add water? heh that is weird.
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There is probably a major flaw in this battery : Discharge Rate is could be about 0.1C or 1C, if they have a 1000km battery and they only ran it for 330 km, it means that it doesnt discharge fast enough to use for 1000km lol

here is lots of information on the water-aluminium process:
http://roelofreineman.com/blog/null
 
The energy density is not comparable to other lithium-ion chemistries, but every cell has its advantages and disadvantages. I advocate A123 26650 cells right now because its my current favorite, a compromise of many factors that any discriminating buyer should consider before committing to a maker/chemistry/format. The advantage of lithium titanate is both fast charge times AND extreme longevity. I'm in the process of evaluating THIS 2.4V 15ah cell from Yabo. Touted to have 12,000 cycles in them. There are a number of EV players, including Honda and Toshiba that are producing EV's using Li2TiO3 batteries. When there are majors involved, and companies doing mass production of battery cells, yes ES'ers should pay attention. :mrgreen:
 
That Yabo cell looks very interesting, do you know what size it is? I couldn't see and dimensions.
 
Tench said:
That Yabo cell looks very interesting, do you know what size it is? I couldn't see and dimensions.
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I'll post the datasheet when I get it. UPDATE: I've had no response from my enquiries from Yabo. On another note, here's another: http://www.batteryspace.com/Lithium-Titanate-Battery.aspx. The point is, the LTO is emerging from R&D into production and the cells are available, albeit on a limited basis, but that will change in time.
 
Breakthrough promises cheap supercapacitors via nanoporous carbon membranes – the electrodes of a supercapacitor – at low cost, quickly, in an environmentally benign process. The only byproduct is methane, which could be used immediately as a fuel or for other purposes.
http://oregonstate.edu/ua/ncs/archives/2014/apr/trees-go-high-tech-process-turns-cellulose-energy-storage-devices

I think there is a future for supercaps in ebikes, even if its just a perfect way to store braking energy, even opens the door for ebikes with no batteries for riders who just want to utilize wasted brake energy for ride take off or lights..
 
Must be spring. (Bettery-electric traction news breaking out all over.)

May have something to do with roads crowded. With too many driving sorta HUGE (mostly empty) and EXPENSIVE (to own/operate and maintain) vehicles?
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(Of course, that whole climate change thingee? That must be re another planet. Right?)
 
LockH said:
Must be spring. (Bettery-electric traction news breaking out all over.)


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(Of course, that whole climate change thingee? That must be re another planet. Right?)
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Yeah, our clown of a PM and most of the government think so......he even calls it crap.....but even so he plans to up taxes so we can pay his polluter mates to stop...yeah right...guess we have to put up with him for another 3 years....b
 
Ouch.

Trade Ya. Our not-so-Great City/State and provincial backwater ("province") has chronic political disease. Prognosis not good for forseeable future. Where's that guy William of Orange when ya need him.
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(Canadien, eh? I got one plan that hopefully cannot fail to boom-meringue effectively.)
 
http://www.aquionenergy.com/
A new sodium-ion battery startup company funded by Bill Gates among others. The battery is made from non-toxic materials (Manganese Oxide, Sodium sulphate, Carbon and Cotton), so inherently more environmentally benign. Its designed for extremely long cycle life, deep depth of discharge and extensive fault tolerance, for variously sized renewable energy storage projects, from the home to grid scale. Seems they may begin shipping this year. May be the perfect marriage to solar & wind projects, to normalize the availability curve. :mrgreen:
 
Gregb said:
Yeah, our clown of a PM and most of the government think so......he even calls it crap.....but even so he plans to up taxes so we can pay his polluter mates to stop...yeah right...guess we have to put up with him for another 3 years....b
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Pray that the other, brain muddled, luddite Palmer (where do they breed these nutters?) upsets the political cart and causes the double dissolution we are looking out for and we end up with some sensiblity out of the mess.
When Paul Keating said, "God help us if this nutter gets elected", he was'nt joking one bit, Tony Abbott and his close knit crony's are the biggest band of far right nutters, Australia has seen.
The guy is Australia's version of America's 'Bush', but dare say worse, a real puppet for the media, mining, coal and O&G causes, Oz has gone to the dogs.
Strap yourself in and pray for help.
Meanwhile, I'm going O/S for some head space from these hierarchal, power nutters, where the words invention, innovation and creativity are'nt dirty words.
Hopefully to see the massive renewables installations in Europe.
Anyway, cheers me up to think bigger picture and see the metal air projects coming to fruition already.
 
Not a breakthrough but something that might be available soon for trike and scooter builders:

Enerdel said:
EnerDel to supply Li-ion Battery Packs for E-Trikes Program in the Philippines

The 3kWh Li-ion battery pack with BMS controls will power tourism vehicles on the island of Boracay.

INDIANAPOLIS – (April 29, 2014) – EnerDel, Inc., a leader in lithium-ion energy storage systems, has entered into a long-term agreement to supply battery packs to GerWeiss Motors Corporation for installation into its electric tricycles, or ‘E-Trikes’, in the Philippines. The program, initiated in 2010, seeks to convert over 500 fossil-fuel powered vehicles on the resort island of Boracay into E-Trikes by 2016.

EnerDel offers a 48V, 3kWh Li-ion battery pack with battery management systems (BMS). The EnerDel packs will provide a running time of 4-5 hours on one charge, and can be fully recharged in about one hour. The EnerDel pack can also be swapped out with fully charged packs at GerWeiss charging stations around the island, allowing for a continuous usage model for drivers.  The EnerDel packs are designed and built in Greenfield, Indiana.

“EnerDel is extremely excited to work together with GerWeiss Motors Corporation on this ambitious initiative to make public transportation in the Philippines more environmentally conscious,” says Michael Canada, Interim CEO and COO at EnerDel.

“We are confident that with the full support of EnerDel, the vision of Mayor John Yap to make Boracay Island the first all electric vehicle community in the world, starting from the E-Trikes, will be realized in the next few years. Further, this same E-Trike program can be replicated all over the Philippines and possibly in our neighboring countries,” states Sean Gerard G. Villoria, President and CEO of GerWeiss Motor Corporation.
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TheBeastie said:
Breakthrough promises cheap supercapacitors via nanoporous carbon membranes – the electrodes of a supercapacitor – at low cost, quickly, in an environmentally benign process. The only byproduct is methane, which could be used immediately as a fuel or for other purposes.
http://oregonstate.edu/ua/ncs/archives/2014/apr/trees-go-high-tech-process-turns-cellulose-energy-storage-devices

I think there is a future for supercaps in ebikes, even if its just a perfect way to store braking energy, even opens the door for ebikes with no batteries for riders who just want to utilize wasted brake energy for ride take off or lights..
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Thanks. If there was one thing I'd add into my ebike it would be regenerative breaking. Someone has to move on this and make product!
 
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1092056_dual-carbon-battery-same-energy-density-safer-longer-life-than-lithium-ion-says-power-japan-plus

"Power Japan Plus says it will start production of Ryden cells in the 18650 "commodity cell" format later this year at its small production facility in Okinawa, Japan."

Of course, they always tell you the good news first. I wonder what the discharge curve looks like? And does it self-discharge? But if it has such low impedance that it can charge 20 times faster than lithium ion, and can discharge to 100% DOD without damage, or heating up, it sounds pretty amazing.
 
Warren said:
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1092056_dual-carbon-battery-same-energy-density-safer-longer-life-than-lithium-ion-says-power-japan-plus

"Power Japan Plus says it will start production of Ryden cells in the 18650 "commodity cell" format later this year at its small production facility in Okinawa, Japan."

Of course, they always tell you the good news first. I wonder what the discharge curve looks like? And does it self-discharge? But if it has such low impedance that it can charge 20 times faster than lithium ion, and can discharge to 100% DOD without damage, or heating up, it sounds pretty amazing.
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They gave hints that its still going to be cells for super high end applications like satellites and maybe a gold plated Tesla for a saudi oil sheik or a Bill Gates who flaunts wealth like Tony Stark.
 
TheBeastie,

"They gave hints that its still going to be cells for super high end applications like satellites and maybe a gold plated Tesla for a saudi oil sheik or a Bill Gates who flaunts wealth like Tony Stark."

For the next few years. Of course they want to get maximum return initially. If it actually pans out, in a few years they will be in laptops, and cell phones...and electric bikes.
 
Silly Putty material inspires better batteries: Silicon dioxide used to make lithium-ion batteries that last three times longer
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/05/140515142839.htm

Date: May 15, 2014
Source: University of California - Riverside

Summary:
Using a material found in Silly Putty and surgical tubing, a group of researchers have developed a new way to make lithium-ion batteries that will last three times longer between charges compared to the current industry standard.
 
e-beach said:
Silly Putty material inspires better batteries: Silicon dioxide used to make lithium-ion batteries that last three times longer
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/05/140515142839.htm

Date: May 15, 2014
Source: University of California - Riverside

Summary:
Using a material found in Silly Putty and surgical tubing, a group of researchers have developed a new way to make lithium-ion batteries that will last three times longer between charges compared to the current industry standard.
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I bet it will end in the same old story like graphene where after years of trying they just can't mass produce it on of a feasible level.
I bet you could blend pee with lithium batteries and increase capacity by x3 times but then after years of research they find they can't reproduce pee on a feasibly commercial level and it's too ridiculous to ask millions of people to pee in a single factory and that pee kits aren't viable because the pee has to be fresh and the blend method for adding it to the lithium batteries is a closely guarded secret.
 
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