Energy Storage

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.

Ballard Power Systems is a developer and supplier of hydrogen fuel cells for automotive and backup power applications.

IDTechEx will be hosting a free webinar on Tuesday 25 September titled Electric two-wheelers: the EV underdog?

Hydrogenics is a Canadian manufacturer and supplier of hydrogen fuel cell products.

The California Energy Storage Alliance applauds the California State Legislature for passing landmark Senate Bill (SB) 100, making California the largest US state to set such an aggressive zero-emission electricity target.

Researchers have developed a new way to make low-cost, single-atom catalysts for fuel cells — an advance that could make important clean energy technology more economically viable.

A wearable energy-harvesting device could generate energy from the swing of an arm while walking or jogging, according to a team of researchers. The device, about the size of a wristwatch, produces enough power to run a personal health monitoring system.

Energy management company Lithium Werks BV has announced that it will build a major clean energy research and development campus at Twente Airport.

ABB are a Swiss multinational manufacturer and supplier of robotics and electrical equipment.

IDTechEx Research has just published a new report 'Fuel Cell Vehicles 2019-2029'. Fuel cells are commercially successful in stationary applications but commercially unsuccessful in vehicles, beyond a few thousand purchased for material handling vehicles, notably forklifts.

The aim of the collaboration is to develop an energy supply system for vessels which is based on fuel cells. Siemens will supply the SISHIP BlueDrive integrated energy and propulsion system into which PowerCell will install its fuel cell modules. Possible joint projects could include energy supply systems for ferries, yachts, cruise ships and research vessels.