Energy Storage

Demand for Li-ion batteries is forecast to grow significantly, driven primarily by the adoption of electric cars and vehicles. With this comes an increase in material demand and there are fears of material shortages and deficits acting as bottlenecks to the level of Li-ion demand, and electric vehicle demand along with it, that can be met in the future. As the two materials where demand is already dominated by the Li-ion battery industry, this premium article considers supply and demand outlooks for lithium and cobalt.

Enervenue are a US company commercialising Ni-H batteries.

The Tipton plant aims to increase Recyclus' lead-acid battery recycling production capacity from an estimated 16,000 tonnes in the first full year of production, to circa 80,000 tonnes by 2027.

In 2021 several thermal process lab and pilot systems for different, even multilayer, battery coating applications and a first high speed separator coating drying system to a leading Asian customer, has been delivered.

Researchers have developed a new technology for producing cost-effective batteries from medical waste. The authors of the research claim that their technology could turn waste that is difficult to recycle into raw materials, according to a study published in the Journal of Energy Storage.

InnovationLab announces BaMoS, its innovative battery monitoring solution for automotive applications. BaMoS uses ultra-thin printed pressure and temperature sensors to capture detailed battery data down to the individual cell level, which can be used to extend battery lifetime by up to 40%.

A research team has developed a graphene-inorganic-hybrid micro-supercapacitor made of leaves using femtosecond direct laser writing lithography. The advancement of wearable electronic devices is synonymous with innovations in flexible energy storage devices. Of the various energy storage devices, micro-supercapacitors have drawn a great deal of interest for their high electrical power density, long lifetimes, and short charging times.

Widespread and uncontrolled EV charging could double peak loads on distribution networks. Yet EVs using smart, two-way charging can feed power back into the network from their batteries at times of peak demand, recharge at times that avoid peak demand on the electric grid and store surplus power when demand is low. The energy and mobility sectors will converge in the future. Energy will flow bi-directionally - from the grid into an electric car and discharged to power appliances, homes and back to the grid itself. This premium article covers the current state of bi-directional technology, limitations and the roadmap to achieving full vehicle to everything (V2X) capability. It also includes an analysis into the role of utilities and why their participation in the growth of charging infrastructure is important.

Renault Group, Nissan Motor Co Ltd. and Mitsubishi Motors Corporation announced common projects and actions to accelerate and to shape their shared future towards 2030, focusing on the mobility value chain.

Refrigerated food warehouses consume large amounts of electricity and produce significant amounts of waste heat. A novel energy storage technology developed with EU funding will improve the sector's energy profile, support renewables, and contribute to Europe's ambitious carbon neutrality and sustainability plans.

The technology group Wärtsilä will supply a 7.8-megawatt / 7.8-megawatt hour energy storage system to a leading gold mining company to help achieve its climate targets and decarbonisation goals at a mine in Suriname. This is the first utility-scale energy storage system to be built in Suriname and Wärtsilä's first energy storage project in the country.

Fluence announced that the first 20-megawatt / 20-megawatt hour battery-based energy storage system in the 470 MW / 470 MWh portfolio the company is deploying for SMC Global Power Holdings Corp.

The town of Haren aims to be completely self-sufficient with green energy. New storage units in the H2 hub enable a meaningful use of excess electricity from peak times. The 16 wind turbines of the community wind farm Fehndorf-Lindloh are connected to an innovative PEM electrolysis system, and an additional battery storage system in combination with a superordinate energy mangement system.

This premium article provides a round-up of the news and developments, from the second half of 2021, within start-ups and companies developing advanced battery technologies.

Activities of automotive OEMs for battery thermal management

Toyota pioneered early electrification with their Prius hybrid, but have been hesitant to adopt battery-electric vehicles. In 2021, Toyota made announcements about their targets for EVs going forward.

In a significant achievement prototype battery ink cells were screen printed onto flexible plastic and successfully generated over 250mAh (milliamp hours) of electrical charge solely from moisture. In addition, over 5mA (milliamps) of electrical current was achieved under load over a 3-day testing period. The results detail a 150% increase in electrical charge compared to previous reporting.

Fires in electric vehicles (EVs) certainly gain a lot of media attention in comparison to their internal combustion engine (ICE) counterparts. But a crucial question for the future of mobility is whether EVs are actually any more likely to catch fire than an ICE vehicle. There is always a non-zero risk of Lithium-ion batteries entering thermal runaway but the key points are how likely is a fire, how problematic is an EV fire and what is being done to prevent or limit them in the future?

Thursday 10 February 2022 - This webinar looks at hydrogels beyond the medical applications that currently dominate the publicity, patents and research. Come away aware that someone will make a new billion-dollar business out of this and greatly benefit society, from smart cities to ample food, water, and electricity with zero emissions and so much more.

Britishvolt is powering ahead with its historic plans for its first full-scale electric-vehicle Gigaplant in Northumberland and is delighted that the project is receiving support from the Government through its Automotive Transformation Fund, delivered by the Advanced Propulsion Centre.