Vitamin-powered batteries store intermittent power
22 July, 2016We all know B vitamins are good for an energy boost, but, inspired by vitamin B2, Harvard researchers have discovered a new way to store energy: they've found a whole new class of high-performing organic molecules that enable large batteries to store electricity from energy sources like solar and wind power that can be intermittent.
World's tiniest wind farm: bacteria could create power sources for microscopic devices
13 July, 2016How's this for a new source of power? Scientists have shown that the movement of bacteria could be harnessed to create microscopic 'wind farms' to power tiny devices.
Charge and battery control sensors and solutions
23 June, 2016 by Jon GabayThis article looks at embedded sensors as part of an integrated solution for optimising and protecting battery-based designs. Both stand-alone and peripheral topologies will be discussed using specific parts as examples.
Salt baths boost electric car batteries
14 June, 2016Australian scientists have demonstrated that pretreating a battery's lithium metal electrodes with an electrolyte salt solution extends the battery life and increases performance and safety.
Longer lasting lithium-air batteries
31 May, 2016Dr Kyeongjae Cho has discovered new catalyst materials for lithium-air batteries that jumpstart efforts at expanding battery capacity. His team's research could open the door to phone and car batteries that last five times longer than current ones.
How to measure electric car batteries
12 April, 2016To better estimate the state of charge in lithium iron phosphate batteries, researchers have developed an algorithm that can separately measure the charging and discharging states of the battery.
Manufacturing microbatteries with organic electrode materials
07 April, 2016With the rising popularity of smaller electronic devices, smaller energy storage systems are needed. Researchers have demonstrated the fabrication of electrochemically active organic lithium electrode thin films, which help make microbatteries more efficient than before.
Mouldy bread leads to better rechargeable batteries
21 March, 2016Reporting in the Cell Press journal Current Biology, researchers show that the red bread mould Neurospora crassa can transform manganese into a mineral composite with favourable electrochemical properties.
Flexible battery market to explode
10 March, 2016Today's tiny market for flexible, printed and thin-film batteries is expected to grow to $471m in 2026, according to market intelligence firm IDTechEx.
Aaronia 20,000 mAh Powerbank
03 March, 2016Aaronia has introduced a high-capacity power bank with hot-swap function for the company's spectrum analysers, active antennas, pre-amplifiers, signal generators and GPS logger.
Micro-supercapacitors built directly on a chip
23 February, 2016A new method of carbon thin-film deposition is said to allow microchips and their energy sources to be collocated on a silicon wafer.
Apple-based sustainable batteries
22 February, 2016A carbon-based active material produced from apple leftovers and a material of layered oxides might help reduce the costs of future energy storage systems.
Perth's Talga makes Li-ion battery breakthrough
17 February, 2016Perth-based advanced materials company Talga Resources' preparation of graphite for the Li-ion battery eliminates a number of processing steps otherwise required under conventional graphite refining pathways to meet commercial-level performance in capacity over 100 cycles in a cell test.
Room-temperature lithium metal battery closer to reality?
12 February, 2016Rechargeable lithium metal batteries have been known to offer energy storage capabilities but they are not in common use today because, when recharged, they spontaneously grow treelike bumps called dendrites on the surface of the negative electrode.
New Li-ion battery won't overheat
12 January, 2016A new lithium-ion battery shuts down before overheating, then restarts once it cools down — preventing the kinds of fires that have prompted recalls and bans on a wide range of battery-powered devices.
