Energy Storage

Supercapacitors are improving much faster than lithium-ion batteries and their marketing is now more imaginative, many applications not involving batteries being opened up.

Anagear, specialists in ultra-low power semiconductor solutions, has announced the introduction of the ANG101x Development Kit.

They call it the Bad Dreamliner because the new Boeing jet has been beset with electrical problems. When new, the Airbus A380 also had electrical problems but they were caught at an early stage. This time it has been more dramatic. In one instance a fire raged in the belly of a Boeing 787 parked at Logan International Airport in the USA. Flames were doused that emanated from the lithium-ion battery compartment. Investigations continue to determine the precise origin of that problem but the air industry is acutely aware that lithium-ion batteries have caused extreme incidents before.

Ioxus manufactures and commercializes supercapacitors, for transportation and industrial applications. They are a private company based in Oneonta, New York USA.

Everything about an electric car is facing total change. Different materials for bodywork, structural components leading to smart skin, laminar electrics, printed electronics and totally new components are coming along.

Scientists have set a world record for energy storage, using a clever "yolk-shell" design to store five times more energy in the sulfur cathode of a rechargeable lithium-ion battery than is possible with today's commercial technology.

You do not look at penguins to judge how the world's birds are prospering. You should not look at on-road electric cars to assess how electric vehicles in general are progressing. Both are somewhat special cases - find out more...

A leading cause of damage and death in lead-acid batteries is sulfation, a degradation of the battery caused by frequent charging and discharging that creates an accumulation of lead sulfate.

Electric vehicles whether hybrid or pure electric or for land, water or air, employ batteries on board, where supercapacitors have not replaced them.

The ZigBee® Alliance, a global ecosystem of companies creating wireless solutions for use in energy management, commercial and consumer applications, has announced the most eco-friendly way to power ZigBee products via its new Green Power feature.

Rose madder - a natural plant dye once prized throughout the Old World to make fiery red textiles - has found a second life as the basis for a new "green" battery.

The market for electric buses and taxis at ex-factory prices will rise 8.7 times from $6.24 billion in 2011 to $ 54 billion in 2021. Of course, the largest part of that will be buses and detailed figures to 2022 are given in the report.

More than 1500 people attended the world leading Printed Electronics USA 2012 event in Santa Clara, CA earlier this month. The event featured 116 exhibitors, up more than 32% on the previous year.

Rechargeable and stretchable energy storage devices, also known as supercapacitors, are urgently needed to complement advances currently being made in flexible electronics.

The annual printed electronics award winners were announced at the IDTechEx Printed Electronics event this week in Santa Clara, California - the World's largest event on the topic.

The second and final day of Printed Electronics USA in Santa Clara really illustrated how far the technologies had progressed and the huge variety of players in the field. The event, organized by IDTechEx, was the best and biggest edition of the series so far. Amongst the attendees were company founders, directors, engineers, academics, but also students and patent attorneys. In particular, there were a large number of end users attending the show.