Already far behind Asian manufacturers in building electric car batteries, U.S. automakers and their suppliers are racing to develop a new generation of batteries that are cheaper, can pack in more energy and charge faster.
Pure lithium metal is a promising replacement for the graphite-based anodes currently used in electric vehicle batteries. It could tremendously reduce battery weights and dramatically extend the driving range of electric vehicles relative to existing technologies. But before lithium metal batteries can be used in cars, scientists must first figure out how to extend their lifetimes.
Engineers created a new type of battery that weaves two promising battery sub-fields into a single battery. The battery uses both a solid state electrolyte and an all-silicon anode, making it a silicon all-solid-state battery. The initial rounds of tests show that the new battery is safe, long lasting, and energy dense. It holds promise for a wide range of applications from grid storage to electric vehicles.
Between 85 and 140 terrawatt-hours of long duration energy storage of more than eight hours can be deployed globally to enable power grids to become carbon net-zero, according to a new report.
The Long Duration Energy Storage (LDES) Council's report, produced in collaboration with McKinsey & Company, said the storage volumes would eliminate between 1.5 to 2.3 giga-tonnes of CO2 currently produced each year by allowing grid energy imbalances to be met by renewable sources opposed to fossil fuels.
Italvolt Spa, founded by Lars Carlstrom to create one of the largest
gigafactories in Europe, has signed an agreement with Prelios Sgr, manager
of Fondo Monteverdi, for the purchase of an area of one million square
meters. The purchased land is located in the municipality of Scarmagno,
which is in Italy’s second largest region of Piedmont, where the former
Olivetti factory stood.
The rumour that battery cell manufacturer CATL wants to build a new factory in the immediate vicinity of the Tesla plant in Shanghai is confirmed. CATL has now officially announced that it has signed a framework agreement to this effect with the Shanghai municipal government.
TES, one of the world’s largest providers of sustainable technology lifecycle services, has agreed to a deal that secures the future of a 10,000 square meter (approx. 110,000 sq. feet) recycling facility in the Port Of Rotterdam, Europe’s largest seaport.
Lithium–oxygen (Li–O2) batteries have attracted considerable attention due to their high theoretical energy density. However nonrenewable and high-cost electrode materials have limited their progress. Herein, the authors design and fabricate a three-dimensional freestanding bi-biomass egg-sugarcane (Egg-SC) electrode with excellent structure and performance as the cathode for Li–O2 batteries. The open, interconnected microchannels derived from the natural SC can provide sufficient pathways for O2 gas diffusion.
