Lithium-ion batteries

A Pinch of Salt Boosts Aluminum Batteries

February 5, 2025
Electrical, Electronics & Instrumentation

Electric vehicles (EVs) and green energy sources rely heavily on batteries to store electricity. Currently, more than 75 percent of the world’s energy storage depends on batteries that contain lithium, an expensive mineral that’s subject to volatile pricing. Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries themselves can be volatile, too, because they use a…

January 29, 2025
Electrical, Electronics & Instrumentation

The rhythms of real-world driving enable EV batteries to live far beyond the predictions of laboratory tests, according to a new study from Stanford University. The report, published in December in Nature Energy, suggests that EV batteries could last 38 percent longer than previous lab-based estimates. That means drivers could…

16 Feb 24

New Solid Electrolyte Matches Liquid Performance

Mechanical, Production & Manufacturing

In a significant breakthrough that could reshape the landscape of battery technology, researchers at the University of Liverpool have unveiled a novel solid electrolyte material capable of conducting lithium ions at a speed equal to that of liquid electrolytes.Solid electrolytes offer a key benefit over the liquid variety—they don’t blow…

24 Dec 23

Can Flow Batteries Finally Beat Lithium?

Electrical, Electronics & Instrumentation, Mechanical, Production & Manufacturing

As she drives her electric vehicle to her mother’s house, Monique’s battery gauge indicates that it’s time to reenergize. She stops at a charging station, taps her credit card at the pump, inserts a nozzle into the car, and in 5 minutes exchanges 400 liters of spent nanofluid for fresher…

05 Dec 23

Extinguishing the EV Battery Fire Hype

Electrical, Electronics & Instrumentation, Mechanical, Production & Manufacturing

Cars catch fire. Electric vehicles are no exception. In the U.S., according to a 2023 study citing recent data from the National Transportation Safety Board and the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, gasoline-powered, internal-combustion engine (ICE) cars were involved in about 1,530 fires per every 100,000 sold. On the other hand,…

31 Oct 23

Could Direct Lithium Extraction Be a Game-Changer?

Mechanical, Production & Manufacturing

High in the Andes mountains where the borders of Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile intersect, white expanses of salt stretch for hundreds of kilometers. Under these flats lie reservoirs of water that contain about three-quarters of the world’s lithium.For decades, producers have extracted that lithium by pumping the water up to…

02 Oct 23

For Sustainable Batteries, Just Add a Pinch of Salt

Mechanical, Production & Manufacturing

As cars, trucks, and buses (and even airplanes and trains) increasingly switch from burning fossil fuels to running on batteries, the demand for critical battery metals is starting to skyrocket. Electric vehicle sales are expected to double between 2023 and 2027, triggering a shortage of lithium by 2024, and of…

24 Sep 23

NASA Battery Tech to Deliver for the Grid

Mechanical, Production & Manufacturing

Technologies for space are designed to be tough, safe, and long-lasting. So what happens when you bring the battery chemistry deployed on the International Space Station, nickel-hydrogen, down to Earth? “[It’s] the most durable battery ever invented,” says Jorg Heinemann. Nickel-hydrogen batteries, he says, can last for 30,000 charge cycles,…

07 Aug 23

Liquid Metal Battery Will Be on the Grid Next Year

Mechanical, Production & Manufacturing

Cost is a crucial variable for any battery that could serve as a viable option for renewable energy storage on the grid. An analysis by researchers at MIT has shown that energy storage would need to cost just US $20 per kilowatt hour for the grid to be powered completely…

02 Aug 23

New Form of Silicon Targets Quantum Computing

Mechanical, Production & Manufacturing

Some of the most promising quantum computers have to date involved exotic materials and systems—including superconducting materials cooled to near-absolute zero and floating ions and atoms held in electric fields and laser traps. Yet familiar old silicon would be decidedly more scalable and convenient if only there were reliable ways…

A Pinch of Salt Boosts Aluminum Batteries

EV Batteries Last Way Longer Than Expected

New Solid Electrolyte Matches Liquid Performance

Can Flow Batteries Finally Beat Lithium?

Extinguishing the EV Battery Fire Hype

Could Direct Lithium Extraction Be a Game-Changer?

For Sustainable Batteries, Just Add a Pinch of Salt

NASA Battery Tech to Deliver for the Grid

Liquid Metal Battery Will Be on the Grid Next Year

New Form of Silicon Targets Quantum Computing

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