Free Republic

Researchers have developed a battery that can convert nuclear energy into electricity via light emission, a new study suggests. Nuclear power plants, which generate about 20% of all electricity produced in the United States, produce almost no greenhouse gas emissions. However, these systems do create radioactive waste, which can be dangerous to human health and the environment. Safely disposing of this waste can be challenging. Using a combination of scintillator crystals, high-density materials that emit light when they absorb radiation, and solar cells, the team, led by researchers from The Ohio State University, demonstrated that ambient gamma radiation could be...

The County of Monterey has sent out an alert to residents that smoke was seen coming from the Moss Landing area on Tuesday evening (Feb. 18). North Monterey County firefighters say that a group of batteries smoldered and reignited. The alert sent at around 8:40 p.m. reads, "Light smoke observed at Vistra Battery Facility North County Fire is on scene investigating what appears to be smoke coming from the previously burned area within the Vistra Moss Landing lithium-ion battery facility." A second alert was sent at 10 p.m. saying that public safety agencies were in unified command due to the...

An e-bike battery that exploded is being blamed for an apartment fire in the city of Ithaca Monday morning. When firefighters arrived on Cherry Street at around 6:40, they found heavy smoke coming from the fourth floor of the five-story building. They determined a battery was burning in the apartment, which ignited other materials. The three people who were inside the apartment were able to escape safely. The building sustained moderate smoke and water damage. The sprinkler system activated and prevented the fire from growing larger. The Red Cross was called to help those residents who were displaced and no...

Gov. Kathy Hochul’s plans for the Empire State to go green are going south as local communities refuse to build massive battery plants that would store wind and solar energy. One upstate town where a top state official leading the state’s anti-fossil fuel push just voted to ban construction of the plants — and one New York City politician has already called to pause any new sites for the facilities. “We called for — and still support — a moratorium on these [Battery Energy Storage System] facilities almost two years ago,” said Vito Fossella, borough president of Staten Island, where...

Ford Motor is recalling 272,817 vehicles in the United States due to concerns over battery failure, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said on Thursday. The recall affects certain 2021-2023 Bronco Sport and 2022-2023 Maverick vehicles. The 12-volt battery may experience degradation and suddenly fail, which can result in a loss of electrical accessories, including the hazard lights, or cause a loss of drive power, increasing the risk of a crash, the US auto safety regulator said. Dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the 12-volt battery free of charge, it said

A major fire broke out Thursday at one of the world's largest battery storage plants.The facility, in Moss Landing, northern California, stores energy for general use as part of the state grid, and is a significant part of California's efforts to use cleaner energy.It caught fire Thursday afternoon, officials in Monterey County said, prompting evacuation orders for more than 2,000 people.A Monterey County Sheriff's Office spokesperson told the local news channel KSBW 8 that 40% of the battery plant had burned.A law enforcement spokesperson told CNN that concerns around chemical spills and hazardous material burning had prompted broad evacuation orders....snip...Monterey...

MOSS LANDING, Calif. — A fire has been confirmed at the Vistra Power Plant in Moss Landing on Thursday which is forcing evacuations and closing roads in the area.

In 2018, the city council of Broken Hill in New South Wales, Australia, had hoped to become the country’s first carbon-free city by 2030. About $415 million USD was invested in solar, wind and battery projects within 15 miles of the town of 19,000. These generators were supposed to supply enough electricity to power 117,000 homes. Then in October, a storm hit the region, destroying power lines connecting the town to dispatchable power from the New South Wales grid, and the entire town was plunged into rolling blackouts. While things gradually returned to normal over a few weeks, the region...

DENVER (KDVR) — Passengers of a Southwest Airlines flight sitting at a Denver International Airport gate had to evacuate after a cell phone battery caught on fire. According to a statement Southwest sent to FOX31, Southwest Airlines Flight 3316 was scheduled to fly to William P. Hobby Airport in Houston on Friday morning. However, all 108 passengers had to evacuate after a phone caught a seat on fire. Per preliminary reports, one person suffered a minor injury during the evacuation and the passenger whose phone caught on fire was being treated for burns, Southwest said. ... Southwest said the passengers...

"The world's largest battery manufacturer, CATL, announced on Thursday a new style of battery destined to create a cleaner, longer-range generation of plug-in hybrid vehicles. The Freevoy Super Hybrid Battery debuts to give PHEVs and extended-range electrics (EREVs) the type of zero-emissions all-electric range that was previously reserved for battery electric vehicles. Freevoy-powered hybrids will travel farther with fewer fueling stops, whether they're relying solely on battery power or tapping into an ICE drive or generator. When battery power and fuel finally do run out, drivers can choose 10-minute battery charging, refueling or both."

Summary: * Samsung's 600-mile solid-state battery could revolutionize EVs, offering longer range and faster charging times, setting new standards. * Solid-state batteries replace lithium-ion, boosting energy density and safety, making them a game-changer in the EV market. * Challenges of scaling production and cost remain, but collaboration among companies may accelerate the adoption of solid-state batteries in the future. ================================================================= As electric vehicles (EVs) continue to become a bigger and bigger part of the automotive industry, snagging an eight percent market share according to recent data, one of the biggest hurdles remaining for dominance is battery technology. Sure, something like...

A semi-truck carrying large lithium-ion batteries overturned Thursday in San Pedro, sparking a fire and hazardous materials concerns while also forcing a closure of the 47 Freeway and the Vincent Thomas Bridge

When cars, planes, ships or computers are built from a material that functions as both a battery and a load-bearing structure, the weight and energy consumption are radically reduced. A research group at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden is now presenting a world-leading advance in so-called massless energy storage – a structural battery that could halve the weight of a laptop, make the mobile phone as thin as a credit card or increase the driving range of an electric car by up to 70 percent on a single charge. image: Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology have succeeded in...

A lithium-ion battery was behind a Thursday night fire in Auburn. According to the Auburn Fire Department, the call came in just before 10:30p of a fire on Liberty St. While en route, units were told that explosions were observed in the kitchen and the residents could still be inside. Once on scene, crews had the fire under control within ten minutes. No one was injured and three cats were rescued; however, four adults were displaced. It has been determined by fire investigators that a battery charging on the kitchen counter was behind the blaze. This is the second fire...

Workers at a Tennessee battery plant have voted to join the United Auto Workers (UAW) — marking a significant victory in the union’s ongoing campaign to organize both the Southeast and the electric vehicle (EV) industry. “Southern workers are ready to stand up and win our fair share by winning our unions. And when we have a free and fair choice, we will win every time,” Trudy Lindahl, a worker at the Ultium plant in Spring Hill, Tenn., said in a statement. General Motors (GM), the Detroit-based automaker that runs the plant as a cooperative venture with South Korea-based LG...

Charging lithium-ion batteries at high currents just before they leave the factory is 30 times faster and increases battery lifespans by 50%, according to a study at the SLAC-Stanford Battery Center. A lithium-ion battery’s very first charge is more momentous than it sounds. It determines how well and how long the battery will work from then on – in particular, how many cycles of charging and discharging it can handle before deteriorating.In a study published today in Joule, researchers at the SLAC-Stanford Battery Center report that giving batteries this first charge at unusually high currents increased their average lifespan by...

An exploding electric bike battery was behind the fire last week at an Auburn inn. According to the Auburn Fire Department, the fire happened just before 6:00p on August 15 at the Cayuga Inn at the Finger Lakes (formerly the Days Inn) at 37 William St. Crews quickly made their way to the second-floor room where there were multiple fires were found. After extinguishing the fires, investigators determined an e-bike battery exploded, causing individual cells to scatter around the room. Damage was largely contained to the room with minor water damage on the first floor room below. There were no...

There's a new trend in the automotive industry to replace physical parts with electrically-actuated systems. The most obvious example is the electrical door release system. All Teslas have such a system, which ensures that the frameless windows are lowered before the door opens. However, when the 12-volt battery dies, the same systems can pose a significant danger, especially when people must quickly evacuate the vehicle. Tesla offers a backup emergency release that works without power, but many owners are unaware of how to use it. Sometimes, the release string is hidden behind the door panel and is not always easy...

The Vires Law Group, in conjunction with the Edward L. Tarpley, Jr., APLC and bolstered by the support of the Former Feds Group Freedom Foundation, has announced the submission of criminal referral requests to the District Attorneys of nine Louisiana parishes.The referrals call for the initiation of criminal investigations against Dr. Anthony Fauci, Deborah “Scarf Lady” Birx, Rochelle Walensky, Peter Daszak, and other public health officials for alleged crimes committed against Louisiana citizens preceding and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine has found that pedestrians are twice as likely to be hit by an electric or hybrid car than by a gasoline- or diesel-powered vehicle. The scientists have hypothesized that the relatively quiet operations of an electric vehicle as well as high pedestrian density in noisy urban areas could be major reasons. The study uncovered a pedestrian casualty rate of 5.16 per 100 million miles driven for electric and hybrid vehicles, more than double the 2.4 per 100 million miles recorded for traditional gasoline-powered cars.