Energy Storage

Hyundai Motor Group has recently announced a commercial partnership with energy company Wärtsilä to utilize second-life electric vehicle batteries for stationary energy storage at both commercial and utility scales. This is not the first piece of news that automotive companies are trying to give a second life to their retired EV batteries as major EV manufactures including Nissan, Renault, BMW, Daimler, BYD etc. have announced various battery second use projects around the world.

Development of supercapacitors with high energy density and long cycle life using sustainable materials for next-generation applications is of paramount importance. The ongoing challenge is to elevate the energy density of supercapacitors on par with batteries, while upholding the power and cyclability.

Trojan Battery Co LLC, is proud to introduce a fresh, new brand. The new look includes a modern logo, vibrant colors, revised product branding and a new tagline: Charging Forward.

A new type of battery could be made partly from carbon dioxide captured from power plants. Rather than attempting to convert carbon dioxide to specialized chemicals using metal catalysts, which is currently highly challenging, this battery could continuously convert carbon dioxide into a solid mineral carbonate as it discharges.

The end-of-life issue of electric vehicle batteries is a key topic in the sustainability of EVs. By 2029, there will be 3 million used battery packs coming out of EVs per year which amounts to around 108GWh available storage capacity (see the IDTechEx's latest report on Second-life Electric Vehicle Batteries). What will happen to this huge amount of retired car batteries?

The Coradia iLint, built by Alstom in Salzgitter, Germany, is equipped with fuel cells which convert hydrogen and oxygen into electricity, thus eliminating pollutant emissions related to propulsion. From 17 September onwards, two such trains will enter commercial service according to a fixed timetable in Lower Saxony.

The research hub is a collaborative effort between the aeronautics, chemical, civil, design and mechanical engineering as well as chemistry and materials science departments. According to the composites centre, the industry was worth £2bn in 2015 and is expected to reach £12bn by 2030.

Skeleton Technologies is now contracted to supply SkelSart Engine Start Module units on all Brush Traction Porterbrook Bi Mode Unit Class 769 flex prime movers.

Fuel cells hold promise as a clean, renewable source of energy. But keeping them dry has long been a challenge, as they produce water during the process of converting hydrogen and oxygen into electricity.

Key areas discussed and displayed at the LCV event include the battery, powertrain, lightweighting, autonomous driving and electric vehicle charging, from not only the technology but also business model and policy perspectives.

One of the biggest drawbacks of electric vehicles - that they require hours and hours to charge - could be obliterated by a new type of liquid battery that is roughly ten times more energy-dense than existing models.

Alta Motors is an electric motorcycle start-up with a focus on off-road competition bikes. The company is making inroads in the U.S. market, with plans to expand internationally by 2020.

The key next iteration for fiber reinforced polymer products will be the concept of multifunctionality. This is the idea of making a structural part carry out additional role(s) beyond their current primary mechanical task - the market for smart composite material is forecast to exceed 5 kilotons by 2029.

Diesel generator sets are noisy and polluting; reducing or limiting their use is beneficial for both human health and the environment. Despite this, their ability to provide reliable and weather independent power around the clock means that they are unlikely to be completely eliminated any time soon. Hybridisation of diesel generator sets through the integration of photovoltaics and/or battery storage presents an excellent opportunity to change our relationship with diesel gensets and save large quantities of fuel, CO2 and toxic pollutants. In this article, we look at the role of diesel + battery storage hybrid generator systems.

A key trend across many sectors is the multifunctionality of structural parts. This has extended to fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composite material and the added functionality ranges to: enhanced electrical & thermal conductivity, embedded sensors & actuators, energy storage & harvesting, data transmission, self-healing, and adaptive response (morphing) mechanisms.

Engineers have created a thin battery, made of a few million carefully constructed "microbatteries" in a square inch. Each microbattery is shaped like a very tall, round room, providing much surface area - like wall space - on which nano-thin battery layers are assembled.

After surfacing its Vespa Elettrica concept at EICMA last year, a large motorcycle trade show known for these sort of announcements from manufacturers, Piaggio finally announced that it will go to production this September, and that it will take preorders in October with the first deliveries later that month.

Most of today's batteries are made up of rare lithium mined from the mountains of South America. If the world depletes this source, then battery production could stagnate. Sodium is a very cheap and earth-abundant alternative to using lithium-ion batteries that is also known to turn purple and combust if exposed to water - even just water in the air.

This is a technological megatrend. Dumb load-bearing metal structures move to plastic and composite and incorporate energy harvesting and storage material - massless energy. Indeed you could call some of it negative mass energy. Goodbye components-in-a-box.

From October this year, 40,000 South Australian households will have access to $100 million in State Government subsidies to pay for the installation of home battery systems.