Energy Storage

Hyundai is investing in Ionic Materials to advance the development of battery technology and improve EV performance with solid-state battery innovation.

The cost of renewable energies such as tidal and wave power in the open sea, wind and solar power have come down greatly in recent years but they are rarely considered viable for base power, largely because of the energy storage needed.

In this premium article IDTechEx highlights some of the presentations analysts found interesting, with commentary, as well as shared insight on interviews undertaken with the market leaders and new entrants on the exhibition floor.

The new IDTechEx Research report Supercapacitor Materials and Technology Roadmap 2019-2039 uniquely appraises these and identifies gaps in the market for device variants and new material capabilities.

Californians do not purchase electric vehicles because they are cool, they buy EVs because they live in a warm climate. Conventional lithium-ion batteries cannot be rapidly charged at temperatures below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, but now a team of engineers has created a battery that can self-heat, allowing rapid charging regardless of the outside chill.

Gravitricity are a Edinburgh based engineering startup working on the area of gravity fed energy storage. They have developed a mechanical stationary storage system using the gravitational potential of a heavy weight within a vertical shaft. IDTechEx spoke with Gravitricity's Managing Director Charlie Blair in June 2018 to understand the company's future plans and the wider potential for gravity fed storage within the global energy ecosystem.

Cymbet is privately held clean technology company working on thin film battery technology and energy harvesting power management solutions for microelectronic systems.

Some supercapacitors will become smart materials and be sold as feedstock by value added material companies such as Dow DuPont and Nitto Denko. Which companies and when is as yet uncertain. This is part of the emerging big picture for supercapacitors that will make even their materials a multi- billion dollar business.

As society and equipment become more mobile and remote from grids, diesel and gas gensets will be bought in larger numbers for a few years yet - possibly peaking at around $30 billion global market size when over 600GW will be deployed. The Zero Genset market will rise to at least $100 billion if it replaces significant grid power.

Hyundai Motor Group has selected Wärtsilä for a technology and commercial partnership designed to utilize second-life electric vehicle batteries for the growing energy storage market.

Supercapacitor materials are rapidly improving by new routes. The active materials are the dominant part of cost and the cause of limitations such as flammability, toxicity, cost, energy density and self- discharge. Currently the active electrodes almost always consist of bulk "hierarchical" carbon with a range of pore sizes, often made the old way from botanical materials.

In any emerging technology, the pace of innovation is rapid, sometimes dauntingly so. Patent Analytics is a service that IDTechEx provides utilising our long-standing expertise in a range of emerging technologies to provide clients of our services the answers they need.

The transportation industry is renewing itself from within finds new IDTechEx Research report "Electric Trucks and Delivery Vans 2018-2028".

Hyundai Motor Group and AUDI AG have entered into a multi-year patent cross-licensing agreement, covering a broad range of fuel cell electric vehicle components and technologies. Under the new partnership, the world's fifth-largest auto-making group and the German premium car maker will make joint efforts in developing FCEVs, to lead the automotive industry to a more sustainable future.

In this article IDTechEx gives a short overview of the topic of wide bandgap semiconductors covering the fundamental material science, the key players, the market potential. The impact on a range of applications will also be discussed, with a focus on renewable energy systems and microgrids.

IDTechEx attended the event last week to meet with key stakeholders including industrial OEMs, power module manufacturers, established semiconductor companies and innovative new GaN (gallium nitride) and SiC (silicon carbide) developers to report back on the current and future trends. The following article is the second of two parts and provides a summary of some of the key GaN related developments and at the event and their impact on various industries and applications.

IDTechEx Analyst Dr Na Jiao attended The China International Battery Fair (CIBF), the first legal international battery fair in the Chinese battery industry, which is held every two years.

IDTechEx attended the event last week to meet with key stakeholders including industrial OEMs, power module manufacturers, established semiconductor companies and innovative GaN (gallium nitride and SiC (silicon carbide) developers to report back on the current and future trends.

IDTechEx analyst, Dr Na Jiao, reports her findings from the Battery Show Europe 2018

Here are some outstanding achievements with much further to go: the Lighting a Billion Lives campaign from 2007 and allied work extending into solar weaving, cooking and boat charging.