Batteries

Be they biological or computer, viruses generally get a pretty bad rap - what with their reputation for infection, reproduction and disease it’s not surprising that their name is actually Latin for toxin or poison. But it's not all bad press - for example geneticists harness viruses to further the study of cell biology and they also hold much potential in the emerging field of nanotechnology where their size, shape and well-defined chemical structure has led to them being used as templates for organizing materials on the nanoscale. Now MIT researchers have turned viruses to the task of building a battery – and they’ve succeeded.  Read More

The human body is a veritable powerhouse. Every minute of everyday it generates energy, but unfortunately much of this energy is wasted on mundane tasks like burning calories or keeping internal organs running. What if this energy could be harnessed to do something really useful – like charge your iPod or mobile phone? Technology that does just that - converting mechanical energy from body movements or even the flow of blood in the body into electric energy that can be used to power a broad range of electronic devices without using batteries – has been described by scientists from the Georgia Institute of Technology.  Read More

It has been a big week for news on advances in energy storage technology. We recently reported on new research that makes a Lithium Ion battery perform more like a supercapacitor, now we can report on research on a supercapacitor that performs more like a battery. Researchers at the University of Maryland and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology have developed a supercapacitor with 10 billion nanoscale capacitors per square centimeter, giving it 250 times greater surface area than that of a conventional capacitor of comparable size. The Nano Supercapacitor is being developed primarily as part of a hybrid battery-capacitor system for electric cars.  Read More

Researchers at the University of Miami and at the Universities of Tokyo and Tohoku, Japan, have been able to prove the existence of a "spin battery" that could have significant benefits over chemical battery systems including being much faster, less expensive and using less energy.  Read More

When the flag drops, the bullsh*t stops, as they say in racing, and few sectors in the auto market have as much to prove as electric motorcycles. The performance potential of electric bikes is almost unbounded, with massive advantages over petrol bikes in so many areas - and battery technology is starting to catch up with the market's needs - but until recently, there's been no international competitive showcase for the top level of electric motorcycles. Just this week, the FIM announced a zero-emissions TT Grand Prix on the Isle of Man in June - and paved the way for electric bikes to compete in the future against top-level petrol bikes. Now, off-road specialists Zero Motorcycles are gearing up for the world's first all-electric 24-hour endurance motocross race in California on April 4. The flag has dropped on electric racing. Time to see who's got the goods, and who's been telling porkies.  Read More

Researchers have developed a new advanced Lithium Ion battery that will allow mobile phone and laptop computers to be fully charged in seconds. Electric car batteries may be charged in as little as five minutes, removing one of the main barriers to wider uptake of EVs. Solar and wind power generation could also benefit as better batteries could be used to store surplus energy.  Read More

From the files of “why don’t they make that?” comes a rechargeable battery with integrated solar cell charger. The “SunCast” prototype uses flexible solar cells from IFE and some C sized NiMH rechargeable batteries. Scientists at IFE have been experimenting with the production of flexible solar cells and were kind enough to send some samples to the “SunCast” battery designer Knut Karlsen.  Read More

A fully self contained bicycle hub motor known as the GreenWheel has been developed by students at MIT that contains the motor, batteries and motor controller all within the hub enclosure. Very similar in concept to the E+ we reported on earlier this week, but taken one step further by combining the batteries together with the motor in a single hub instead of putting the batteries in the front hub and motor/controller in the rear hub as on the E+.  Read More

Smaller, lighter, and easier to configure than previous models, Protonex' new line of power managers reduce the amount of batteries soldiers have to carry into the field and streamline the recharging of electronics. The latest line feature six configurable power ports and provide troops with greater and easier access to man-packable equipment such as the Defense Advanced GPS Receiver, the Multiband Inter/Intra Team Radio, the PRC-119 radio system, Night Vision, BB 2590 batteries, PDAs and solar blankets.  Read More