Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE)

Molten-Salt Battery: Towards Seasonal Storage of Grid-Scale Energy

Scientists have created a battery designed for the electric grid that locks in energy for months without losing much storage capacity. The development of the "freeze-thaw battery," which freezes its energy for use later, is a step toward batteries that can be used for seasonal storage: saving energy in one season, such as the spring, and spending it in another, like autumn.

A Viable Sodium Battery

Researchers have created a sodium-ion battery that holds as much energy and works as well as some commercial lithium-ion battery chemistries, making for a potentially viable battery technology out of abundant and cheap materials.

Founder of Tera-Barrier Films is Innovator of the Year for Technology

With Senthil's innovation, the barrier properties of a single oxide barrier layer increased to up to 10,000 times, when a single nano sealing layer is coated on the barrier oxide layer. Barrier properties of the multilayer skyrocketed to up to 10-7 grams per square meter per day as tested by the top university in Japan.

Polymer power potential

The mantra 'reduce, reuse, recycle' is increasingly pertinent. Every year, vast amounts of energy that could be captured and reused is lost through waste heat. Now, scientists have demonstrated, through theoretical calculations, that it may be possible to fabricate thermoelectric organic polymers that can convert heat into electrical energy with high efficiency.

Customizable, fabric-like power source

Scientists have created a customizable, fabric-like power source that can be cut, folded or stretched without losing its function.

Tiny additions yield stronger components

Superalloys are the wonder materials of metallurgy. By fine-tuning their composition, scientists can increase mechanical strength and improve resistance to corrosion and high-temperature shape changes.

Long-lasting flow battery could run for more than a decade

Researchers have developed a new flow battery that stores energy in organic molecules dissolved in neutral pH water. This new chemistry allows for a non-toxic, non-corrosive battery with an exceptionally long lifetime and offers the potential to significantly decrease the costs of production.

Going carbon free boosts battery life

Zinc-air batteries are one of the most promising solutions for the large-scale storage of intermittently-generated renewable electricity from solar, wind or tidal: they are non-flammable, inexpensive and with a very high energy density.

Three-layer nanoparticle catalysts improve zinc-air batteries

Nanoparticles containing three different layers of material can help to boost the performance of a zinc-air battery, researchers have found.

Plastic flexible magnetic memory device

Smart plastic demonstrates excellent performance in terms of data storage and processing capabilities.

Sounding out flu viruses

Sensors based on special sound waves known as surface acoustic waves are capable of detecting tiny amounts of antigens of Influenza A viruses.

Highly conductive material for 3D-printing of circuits

Scientists have invented a new type of thermoplastic thread that can be used in 3D printers to create functional circuits for use in electrical gadgets.

Sputtering start for flat materials

Two-dimensional materials have a whole host of exotic properties because they are just one atom thick. Researchers have now developed a method for creating large areas of atom-thin material for use in electronic devices.

Speakers announced for 3D Printing Europe 2015

IDTechEx is excited to announce the agenda for 3D Printing Europe 2015. After months of planning, we are ready to launch our fantastic speaker programme.

Dyes help harvest light

Researchers have developed zinc porphyrin dyes that harvest light in both the visible and near-infrared parts of the spectrum.

Dyes help harvest light

Researchers have now developed zinc porphyrin dyes that harvest light in both the visible and near-infrared parts of the spectrum.

Multilayer polymers spring into action

The shrinking dimensions and decreased power consumption of modern electronic gadgets have created opportunities for energy harvesting processes that tap into free, green energy from the environment. Vibration harvesters, for example, produce small amounts of electricity from everyday mechanical disturbances such as wind currents, traffic noise or footsteps.

Inexpensive material boosts battery capacity

By improving the energy capacity of lithium-ion batteries, a new electrode made from iron oxide nanoparticles could help electric vehicles to cover greater distances.

Low-cost molecule boosts stability and amplification of semiconductors

Replacing traditional rigid silicon wafers with semiconductors made from flexible polymers would herald an age of advanced, 'wearable' electronics.