#batteries
Ample raises $160 million on the promise of EV battery swapping with an adapter plate fitting each OEM's vehicle holding swappable modules
Battery swapping is an ideal solution whilst EV batteries still take some time to charge, but it really needs standardisation to take off. Problem is the race is still on between manufacturers to squeeze in that extra bit of capacity and shave minutes off the charging time. Ample is planning to build a battery that fits into existing vehicles, but where the modules can swap out easily (or even upgraded).
The goal with Ample is to convince automakers to make versions of their electric vehicles that have a sort of adapter plate instead of a full battery pack, while everything else stays the same. Then Ample plugs a bunch of battery modules into that adapter. The modules can then be easily swapped at automated battery swap stations, allowing for a much faster “fill-up” that saves time and money.
"John de Souza: I think in the US, we don’t look enough as to what’s happening around the world". While battery swapping may still seem unfamiliar and possibly unfeasible in the US, it’s taking off in China, where startups like Nio have inspired the government there to basically start demanding a national standard.
See Ample raises $160 million on the promise of battery swapping
An idea Tesla and others have tried but abandoned.
GAC Aion V 6C Promises 8-Minute Charge Times, 1000-Kilometre Range in their SUV, possible using their new graphene battery
Chinese manufacturer GAC says next month, customers will be able to buy an Aion 6C battery electric SUV that can charge a depleted battery to 80% capacity in a lightning fast 8 minutes. The company claims the car will have a range of 1000 kilometres NEDC, the wildly optimistic standard used in China. EPA range would probably be a little more than half of that, but still — 500+ miles of range and an 8 minute charging time? BOOM! That’s the sound of range anxiety fears exploding.
Naturally, such expeditious charging requires state-of-the-art chargers. For those worried that such rapid charging will degrade the battery, Aion says not to worry. Assuming charging is done at room temperature, it claims the battery should last for up to 1 million kilometres.
The proof of the pudding though will be in the "eating", so we all eagerly await actual road test reviews.
See GAC Aion V 6C Promises 8-Minute Charge Times, 1000 Kilometer Range
#environment #batteries #EV #BEV
GAC claims its new Aion V 6C has exception range and super fast charging times.
(1) Xuanze He auf Twitter: "This paper studies Lithium ion battery fires. We find the critical ambient temperature should be used to guide storage rather than the standard suggested critical temperature increase rate, which does not represent the criticality of ignition. https://t.co/J4cmCPIaI0" / Twitter
Murata to deliver solid state batteries to market soon, and they’ll be able to be soldered directly to PCBs
Solid state batteries have long been promised to us as the solution to our energy storage needs. Theoretically capable of greater storage densities than existing lithium-ion and lithium-polymer cells, while being far safer to boot, they would offer a huge performance boost in all manner of applications.
According to Murata’s own report from 2019, their new batteries will be aimed at the wearables and Internet of Things market. The batteries will be on the order of 2 to 25 mAh in capacity, based on graphics in the press release, with energy densities in the realm of 500 Wh/L. This puts the batteries in the realm slightly above the performance of current lithium-ion cells. It also far exceeds existing solid state designs, currently only really used in pacemakers and other very-low-power applications. However, their solid state nature brings one exciting benefit — they’ll be able to be soldered directly to PCBs in much the same way as any other component.
See Murata To Deliver Solid State Batteries To Market In The Fall
#technology #batteries #wearables
Solid state batteries have long been promised to us as the solution to our energy storage needs. Theoretically capable of greater storage densities than existing lithium-ion and lithium-polymer cel…
Energy Department Targets Vastly Cheaper Batteries to Clean Up the Grid
#alternativeandrenewableenergy #globalwarming #greenhousegasemissions #batteries #solarenergy #hydroelectricpower #geothermalpower #windpower #electriclightandpower #energydepartment #unitedstatespoliticsandgovernment #science #news
400-MWh Saticoy energy storage project using Tesla Megapacks now online in Southern California
Arevon Asset Management announced that the 100-MW/400-MWh Saticoy energy storage project in Southern California Edison’s (SCE) territory is now online. Saticoy was built after the local community decided to forgo a proposed gas peaker plant near the beach in Oxnard. Instead, 142 Tesla Megapacks will supply energy to the grid. “On hot days when the…
https://www.solarpowerworldonline.com/2021/06/400-mwh-saticoy-energy-storage-project-using-tesla-megapacks-now-online-in-southern-california/
#batteries, #utility, #storage, #projects, #markets, #news
Battery recycling boosted by dentist-style ultrasonics, if manufacturers can cooperate
Electric vehicles may come with impressive green credentials, at least while they're being driven, but as any laptop owner knows batteries come with a finite lifespan. End-of-life EV batteries may find a second use as backing storage for power grids but there will come a time when they need to be recycled – and the current process is neither clean nor easy.
"This novel procedure is 100 times quicker and greener than conventional battery recycling techniques and leads to a higher purity of recovered materials," claimed Andy Abbott, professor at the University of Leicester. "It essentially works in the same way as a dentist's ultrasonic descaler, breaking down adhesive bonds between the coating layer and the substrate."
"It is likely that the initial use of this technology will feed recycled materials straight back into the battery production line. This is a real step change moment in battery recycling," he added.
As expected though, masses of research is going into more efficient batteries as well as ways to recycle and re-use them, so the overall situation only keeps getting better.
See Battery recycling boosted by dentist-style ultrasonics, if manufacturers can cooperate
#environment #EV #batteries #recycling
New technique quicker and greener, but needs batteries to be designed for dismantling
#science #sciencemanuelacasasoli
Ion dynamics in battery materials imaged rapidly
How to design #batteries that charge in minutes.
A new technique can allow to better study the fast dynamics of ‘active’ particles that store and release lithium ions during charging and discharging.
Merryweather et al. (2021) Operando optical tracking of single-particle ion dynamics in batteries: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03584-2
Shell Gets Greener, Even as Climate Advocates Say, ‘Go Faster’
#royaldutchshellplc #batteries #greenhousegasemissions #alternativeandrenewableenergy #windpower #solarenergy #mergersacquisitionsanddivestitures #electriclightandpower #globalwarming #limejumpltd #sonnengmbh #ubitricitygmbh #greatbritain #news
Biden Administration Moves to Unkink Supply Chain Bottlenecks
#bidenjosephrjr #unitedstatespoliticsandgovernment #unitedstateseconomy #internationaltradeandworldmarket #shortages #factoriesandmanufacturing #alternativeandrenewableenergy #electricandhybridvehicles #batteries #rareearths #lithiummetal #computerchips #china #coronavirusaidreliefandeconomicsecurityact2020 #americanrescueplan2021 #energydepartment #healthandhumanservicesdepartment #officeoftheunitedstatestraderepresentative #news
5 Energy Storage Systems for the Electrical Grid
Most of our articles about green technologies often end with the same complaint: Where are the greenbacks? Profitability in the low-carbon, environment-first economy remains largely elusive. For example, everyone is suddenly interested in carbon capture after Elon Musk backed a $100 million XPRIZE for the best solution for mitigating emissions. But, as we’ve pointed out […]
https://www.nanalyze.com/2021/05/energy-storage-systems-grid/
#energy, #technology, #green, #ion, #flow, #batteries, #lithium, #storage
Millions of electric cars are coming. What happens to all the dead batteries?
Recycling the battery can be a hazardous busines.
Current EV batteries are really not designed to be recycle. That wasn’t much of a problem when EVs were rare. But now the technology is taking off. Several carmakers have said they plan to phase out combustion engines within a few decades, and industry analysts predict at least 145 million EVs will be on the road by 2030, up from just 11 million last year.
Batteries differ widely in chemistry and construction, which makes it difficult to create efficient recycling systems. And the cells are often held together with tough glues that make them difficult to take apart. That has contributed to a economic obstacle: It’s often cheaper for batterymakers to buy freshly mined metals than to use recycled materials.
Redwood Materials recycling facility, which is in Nevada USA recovers 95–98% of critical materials like nickel and cobalt and copper from old batteries
JB Straubel, a Tesla co-founder and its former Chief Technological Officer for many years, started Redwood Materials in 2017. He sat down in an interview with CNBC to talk about the importance of battery recycling and shared an inside look at the first Redwood Materials recycling facility, which is in Carson City, Nevada. Straubel pointed out why the materials from old batteries are still as good as new.
Seems the recycling is quite viable as they set their prices by what mines charge to mine the original materials (which is higher). They are mined in countries such as South America and then sent to China to be refined. Then sent to Tesla’s Giga Nevada for cell production at Panasonic.
See CNBC: How Tesla’s Battery Mastermind Is Tackling Electric Vehicles’ Biggest Problem
#environment #EV #batteries #recycling
In a new video, CNBC details how Tesla’s battery mastermind is solving the largest problem that EVs have. The video starts out with thousands of plastic bags filled with batteries. These batteries come from EVs, phones, scooters, laptops, and other electronic devices. Since these batteries are both flammable and toxic, it’s critical that they don’t […]
Going off-grid in the 2020s: Updated battery choices for today’s power needs
Describe an off-grid solar setup, and someone 20 years ago would imagine a remote cabin in the woods, with lead-acid batteries and diesel generators used as backup power. But in the 2020s, off-grid homes might be closer than you think — like, right next door. Many neighborhoods, either because of their geography or restrictions on…
https://www.solarpowerworldonline.com/2021/04/off-grid-batteries-for-todays-power-needs/
#featured, #batteries, #storage, #components, #markets, #residential
Make a magnesium copper battery that lasts for a year. It appears each cell provides about 1.5vdc and 20ma, enough to power an LED light for a year or more. Using a voltage booster with one cell will increase the volts but decrease the amps meaning you will not be able to power an LED light. So make 2 cells and put them in series for 3vdc 20ma output.
Summary of the first month of my PV system, lowest generation month of the year (mid winter).
Power generated: 850kWh, ~28kWh/day, peak day 35.6kWh(*)
Power consumed: 550kWh, ~18kWh/day
Power exported: 250kWh, ~8kWh/day, peak day 13.6kWh
Battery power in: 300kWh, ~10kWh/day
Battery power out: 290kWh, ~10kWh/day
Battery round trip efficiency: ~96%
(*) the generation peak was when I ran both A/Cs flat out heating all day, ran 4 loads of washing through the machine and the dryer, etc. It was still throttled to about 50% output for 3-4 hours over peak generation times, so if I wasn't export limited I could be generating ~50kWh/day in the middle of winter.
Exports have been limited by high grid voltages - most of the month it was throttled right down (1kW max export) to prevent overvoltage disconnection problems. A firmware upgrade on the inverter added substantial demand/response functionality - it can now ramp down exports as grid voltage goes up. Hence it automatically maximise export according to conditions whilst preventing overvoltage conditions from occurring. That's roughly double the amount of power I can export (according to the output in the 3 clear days since it was enabled), but export is still extremely limited (2kW typical instead of the 6-7kW excess I can generate) by the high grid voltage....
Despite that, the system is working really well now that most of the teething problems have been sorted out. Happy :)