Energy Storage

A new approach could hold the key to greatly improving the performance of commercial lithium-ion batteries.

The South Korean giant Samsung just got itself into dire straits as the story behind the reported battery fires related to the Galaxy Note 7 unfolds even further. As of September, 92 accidents have been reported in the US alone. IDTechEx expert Dr Lorenzo Grande gives the lowdown on Samsung's battery woes.

Supercapacitors are an emerging energy storage technology that will take a key role in the future of energy systems. Whilst lithium-ion batteries are increasingly capturing the market of other battery technologies, they will never be able to compete with supercapacitor technology in terms of power and number of cycles.

Hitachi Zosen is a Japanese company that is working on a sulphide-based solid-state battery with a new process to fabricate Li-ion batteires by press forming.

EMPA are the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology. They are currently working on a novel, hydride-based solid-state electrolyte that has a higher ionic conductivity than liquid electrolytes.

Researchers have developed a novel nanomaterial that could improve the performance and lower the costs of fuel cells by using fewer precious metals like platinum or palladium.

In the final edition of a five part series on Residential, Commercial/Industrial and Utility batteries, Technology Analyst Dr Xiaoxi He looks at the go-to-market strategies prominent amongst players today.

A powerful new material developed researchers could one day speed up the charging process of electric cars and help increase their driving range.

Non-toxic, edible batteries could one day power ingestible devices for diagnosing and treating disease. One team reports new progress toward that goal with their batteries made with melanin pigments, naturally found in the skin, hair and eyes.

Electric vehicles have been the centre of attention for the majority of manufacturers in this space, but here Technology Analyst Dr Xiaoxi He looks beyond this market to other Utility options. This is the penultimate article in a five part series covering some brand new IDTechEx research on this topic.

Making clean energy a large-scale reality entails the integration of renewable energy generation technologies such as solar cells with energy storage devices.

Researchers have designed a thin plastic membrane that stops rechargeable batteries from discharging when not in use and allows for rapid recharging.

Researchers have invented a new flexible smart window material that, when incorporated into windows, sunroofs, or even curved glass surfaces, will have the ability to control both heat and light from the sun.

Inventors are paving the way for the future with energy-efficient batteries for sensors, portable devices and electric cars.

Old batteries often wind up in landfills or incinerators, potentially harming the environment. And valuable materials remain locked inside. Now, a team of researchers is turning to naturally occurring fungi to drive an environmentally friendly recycling process to extract cobalt and lithium from tons of waste batteries.

A future of soft robots that wash your dishes or smart T-shirts that power your cell phone may depend on the development of stretchy power sources.

A new class of fuel cells based on a newly discovered polymer-based material could bridge the gap between the operating temperature ranges of two existing types of polymer fuel cells, a breakthrough with the potential to accelerate the commercialization of low-cost fuel cells for automotive and stationary applications.

Researchers are using biochar, an inexpensive carbon-rich material and a new method of creating the porous surface needed to capture electricity to reduce the cost of supercapacitors.

Technology Analyst Xiaoxi He discusses the residential battery landscape today, looking at costing by component over time as well as other metrics to analyse this market. This is the thirdof a five part series covering some brand new IDTechEx research on this topic.

The energy storage solution provides a second-life for Nissan electric vehicle batteries and in combination with Eaton's leading uninterruptible power supply capabilities, provides an industrialised energy control and storage solution for managing data centres.