Energy Storage

Update from the IDTechEx Show! Berlin 2018.

Update from the IDTechEx Show! 2018.

This article provides an overview of energy storage innovations.

The material graphene has many incredible properties, but to date it has been difficult to use on a large scale in industry, because it loses its unique properties and goes back to its origin graphite. A researcher has developed a new form of graphene that can solve the problem.

Here the IDTechEx analysts in attendance present a commentary on the show's highlights in their respective fields of research

The battery life of electric vehicles still presents a financial challenge for the electrification of the transport sector. That is why the Fraunhofer institute for Transportation and Infrastructure IVI, expert in the field of Lithium-ion batteries, and real-time electric vehicle data specialist ViriCiti, have started a unique collaboration.

Flash Battery is an Italian company specialised in battery packs for specialty vehicles. Their product portfolio ranges in the 10 - 300 kWh pack size, but they also have customers in the marine sector requiring up to 2 MWh worth of Li-ion batteries.

Bluesky energy are providers of saltwater-based energy storage systems mainly for residential applications, although the company is also interested in off-grid applications for emerging markets like Africa. Based out of Austria and founded in 2012, the company is selling turnkey residential systems with help from a national subsidy, and also selling systems in Germany which has local and national subsidies.

Researchers have developed a water-based battery that could provide a cheap way to store wind or solar energy generated when the sun is shining and wind is blowing so it can be fed back into the electric grid and be redistributed when demand is high.

There are several flavours of technology today jostling to make the dream of electricity-generating windows a reality.

The design and construction of a clean, hydrogen-powered UPS delivery van is near completion. Promising greater commercial viability, performance that is equal to traditional gasoline-fueled engines and, most importantly, producing no harmful emissions.

2D materials are going to be much more versatile and useful and that particularly means beyond graphene.

A team of researchers has created a water-based zinc battery that is simultaneously powerful, rechargeable, and intrinsically safe.

An electrochemical double layer capacitor is purely electrostatic in action, meeting the definition of a capacitor. There are other ways of getting high capacitance and energy density.

Nanotec are manufacturers of nanomaterials including Cu, Li2S, and cellulose. Dr Richard Collins visited their facilities and spoke with Patricio Jarpa (General manager).

IDTechEx is attending the International Renewable Energy Conference (ICREN) in Barcelona this week. This article reports on their findings from the first day keynotes.

Single crystal silicon photovoltaics will now be very affordable, obsoleting polycrystalline Si PV by having efficiency much higher. Laminating it onto supercapacitor sheeting will form a load bearing material that both makes and stores electricity, delivering it exceptionally fast when needed.

ZapGo Ltd, in recognition of its Carbon-Ion™ cell technology, was selected as the winner of the IDTechEx award for Best Technical Development Within Energy Storage at the 2018 IDTechEx Show! in Berlin, Germany. This award is given to the most significant technical development within energy storage over the last 24 months as judged by an independent panel of judges.

From the 19th to the 21st June 2018, IDTechEx is pleased to invite you to our Business & Technology Insight Forums at the prestigious Wolfson College in Cambridge (UK), to learn more about energy storage and electric vehicles.

Ilika is a public company that focuses on innovative approaches for technology accelerated innovation. They are affiliated to the University of Southampton in the UK and have worked in the development of solid state batteries. They have collaborated with Toyota in SSB material developments.