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Author provides inside look at Argonne National Laboratory’s efforts to build a ‘super battery’ By Laura Alessio March 27, 2015 So secretive were efforts to create the first self-sustained nuclear reaction in 1942 that physicist Enrico Fermi and his Manhattan Project team quietly toiled beneath the stands of Stagg Field and communicated with each other in code.That breakthrough ushered in the nuclear age, but also led to the creation of the country’s first national lab, Argonne National Laboratory. Some 70 years later, with 20 countries racing to achieve another world-changing scientific shift—to design and build a better rechargeable “super battery”—Argonne...

Researchers at the University of California, Riverside's Bourns College of Engineering have developed a novel paper-like material for lithium-ion batteries. It has the potential to boost by several times the specific energy, or amount of energy that can be delivered per unit weight of the battery. This paper-like material is composed of sponge-like silicon nanofibers more than 100 times thinner than human hair. It could be used in batteries for electric vehicles and personal electronics. Scanning electron microscope images of (a) SiO2 nanofibers after drying, (b) SiO2 nanofibers under high magnification (c) silicon nanofibers after etching, and (d) silicon nanofibers...

Ectric cars are quick and quiet, with a range more than long enough for most commutes. If you want a car with extremely fast acceleration, the Tesla Model S is hard to beat. And, of course, electric vehicles avoid the pollution associated with conventional cars, including emissions of carbon dioxide from burning gasoline. Yet they account for a tiny fraction of automotive sales, mainly because the batteries that propel them are expensive and need to be recharged frequently. A better battery could change everything. But while countless breakthroughs have been announced over the last decade, time and again these advances...

Startup Seeo has developed batteries that store far more energy than conventional ones, which could extend the range of electric cars. An experimental lithium-ion battery based on materials developed at a U.S. Department of Energy lab stores twice as much energy as the batteries used in most electric cars. If the technology can be commercialized, it could give affordable electric cars a range of over 200 miles per charge, says Hal Zarem, CEO of Seeo, a startup that’s working on the technology. Today the cheapest electric cars, which cost around $30,000, typically have a range of less than 100 miles....

Lawrence Berkeley Lab team helps lead charge to revolutionize energy storage By Jeremy Thomasjethomas@bayareanewsgroup.comPosted:   11/20/2014 10:53:33 AM PST2 Comments | Updated:   a day ago     BERKELEY -- Imagine an electric car with the range of a Tesla Model S -- able to reach Lake Tahoe from the Bay Area on a single charge -- but at one-fifth the $70,000 price tag for the luxury sedan.    Or a battery not only able to provide many times more energy than today's technology but also at significantly cheaper prices, meaning longer-lasting and less expensive power for cellphones, laptops and...

After a historic but awkward comet landing, the robot probe Philae is now stable and sending pictures - but there are concerns about its battery life. The lander bounced twice, initially about 1km back out into space, before settling in the shadow of a cliff, 1km from its intended target site. It may now be problematic to get enough sunlight to charge its battery systems. -- The key issue vexing controllers right now is the lighting conditions. Philae is receiving about 1.5 hours of illumination during every 12-hour rotation of the comet. This will be insufficient to top up its...

A new kind of solar cell could store electrical energy without any help from traditional batteries, according to a new study. Researchers at Ohio State University, in Columbus, have developed what they're calling the world's first solar battery — a hybrid device that combines the energy-capturing abilities of a solar cell with the energy-storing capabilities of a battery. The new cell could lower the cost of harvesting renewable energy from the sun by as much as 25 percent, according to the researchers. [Top 10 Craziest Environmental Ideas] The key to the device's success is a mesh solar panel that allows...

Reuters sources inside Nissan are saying the production of batteries inTennessee for the all-electric Leaf, which stimulus-subsidizing U.S. taxpayers backed with a $1.4 billion loan, could be eliminated. According to the report, at minimum there is sharp debate over whether the company will continue to manufacture electric vehicle batteries in-house or contract with an outside supplier. Nissan partner Renault, which has 43.4 percent shareholder ownership in the joint company, is said to be pushing for outsourcing battery production – possibly to LG Chem. None who revealed the information were identified for the Reuters story. “We set out to be...

Article is excerpted per Copyright List. The NFL and the NFL Players Association have agreed to a neutral arbitrator to hear the appeal for indefinitely suspended former Ravens running back Ray Rice. No hearing date or hearing officer have been determined yet, though, as talks continue between NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. Smith addressed the development in an email to NFL players this afternoon, noting that potential candidates for the arbitration have been exchanged.

(Reuters) - Nissan (7201.T) boss Carlos Ghosn is preparing to cut battery manufacturing, people familiar with the matter said, in a new reversal on electric cars that has reopened deep divisions with alliance partner Renault (RENA.PA). The plan, which faces stiff resistance within the Japanese carmaker, would see U.S. and British production phased out and a reduced output of next-generation batteries concentrated at its domestic plant, two alliance sources told Reuters...

In 2015, American consumers will finally be able to purchase fuel cell cars from Toyota and other manufacturers. Although touted as zero-emissions vehicles, most of the cars will run on hydrogen made from natural gas, a fossil fuel that contributes to global warming. Now scientists at Stanford University have developed a low-cost, emissions-free device that uses an ordinary AAA battery to produce hydrogen by water electrolysis. The battery sends an electric current through two electrodes that split liquid water into hydrogen and oxygen gas. Unlike other water splitters that use precious-metal catalysts, the electrodes in the Stanford device are made...

“Josie,” a friend of Ferguson Officer Darren Wilson, called into The Dana Loesch Radio Show today. Josie gave Officer Wilson’s side of the story. Here’s the transcript: “He pulled up ahead of them. And then he got a call-in that there was a strong-arm robbery. And, they gave a description. And, he’s looking at them and they got something in their hands and it looks like it could be what, you know those cigars or whatever. So he goes in reverse back to them. Tries to get out of his car. They slam his door shut violently. I think he...

The police officer who fatally shot 18-year-old Michael Brown did not know that he was a suspect in a convenience store robbery, Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson said Friday.Jackson said the officer, previously identified as 28-year-old Darren Wilson, initially stopped Brown and a friend ”because they were walking down the middle of the street blocking traffic.” Police earlier Friday released security footage they said showed Brown grabbing a box of cigars from a convenience store and then shoving the clerk away to leave.Daryl Parks, an attorney for the Brown family, confirmed that the security footage “appears to look like” the teenager,...

The Chevrolet Volt isn't changing much for the 2015 model year. According to specifications uncovered by Inside EVs, though, the new Volt's battery does have a slightly larger capacity. According to the spec sheet, this doesn't translate to increased range. Real world driving, though, might tell a different story. The 2015 Volt's battery storage is slightly higher than the outgoing model's, up from 16.5 kilowatt-hours to 17.1 kWh. According to GM's manager of electrification technology communications, Kevin Kelly, speaking to Green Car Reports, the increased capacity is "a late change done in the cell... just another continuous improvement to surprise...

Tesla said this week that its $35,000 entry, due in 2017 (or thereabouts), will be called the Model 3. One of the keys to making a cheaper Tesla is battery technology, as CEO Elon Musk pointed out to Auto Express earlier in the week. I chatted with John Voelcker, senior editor for High Gear Media, which publishes Green Car Reports, in the wake of the news. He offered insight into what impact a lower-priced Tesla might have. Q: Tesla has sold very pricey cars to date. How might a $35,000 Model 3 shake things up? John Voelcker: A list price...

NLPC has extensively documented howTesla Motors has taken advantage of market distortions to reap revenues – including government mandates, subsidies, and taxpayer support – not the least of which have been so-called “zero emission credits” from the state of California. But much of the revenue Tesla enjoyed last year – which often meant the difference between profit and loss – was credited based upon theoreticaltechnological capabilities and not ones actually put into practice. CEO Elon Musk has also relied on accounting gimmicks to enhance his bottom line over the last 18 months, during which a couple of quarterly earnings...

Two companies have developed a new type of electric vehicle battery said to offer a 1,000 mile range, with prices and whole-life costs comparable to a conventional petrol or diesel engine. The joint project between metals specialist Alcoa and green technology company Phinergy has produced a demonstrator featuring an aluminium-air battery, designed as a range extender for the lithium-ion units used in most electric vehicles. Already used in military applications, the battery uses a reaction with air and water over 50 aluminium plates, each of which can drive a car for up to 20 miles. The unit is designed so...

At the time of the conversion of Norma McCorvey (aka 'Roe' of 'Roe v. Wade'), I was living in Dallas. One prolife story that happened at the same time as the national story of Norma going from working in an abortion clinic and being pro-abortion to being prolife, there was the story of a girl/woman who did not want an abortion. The woman (or girl, as her identity was kept secret) had a broken arm, and did not want an abortion. Prolifers had to get a restraining order against the boyfriend so that this person would keep her baby. Perhaps...

Israeli company Phinergy claim to have produced a battery that can power a Citroen C1 for 3000km, and have demonstrated a 1800km drive with a more practical version, three times that available from commercial electric cars. Even more dramatically, the battery weighs just 100km, a fifth of the weight of those in the Tesla Model S. Metal-air batteries use the oxygen in the air around them, rather than storing it in liquid or solid chemicals. They can store far more energy than most competing technologies. Not needing to contain the oxygen can also cut the weight dramatically – Phinergy claim...

PORTLAND, Ore. — Say goodbye to your phone battery and charger. A new structural material could transform a mobile device's entire case into a hybrid super-capacitor/battery, making traditional batteries obsolete. Researchers from Vanderbilt University's Nanomaterials and Energy Devices Laboratory are now designing materials that combine the best aspects of super-capacitors and batteries into a single hybrid material suitable for making such device cases. While the material's energy density is currently less than that of a lithium-ion battery, it makes up for density by the much bigger volume of a case -- plus it eliminates the space needed for a battery....