Assorted five New Battery Technologies
1. NanoBolt lithium tungsten batteries
Working on battery anode materials, researchers at N1
Technologies, Inc. added tungsten and carbon multi-layered nanotubes
that bond to the copper anode substrate and build up a web-like nano
structure.
2. Zinc-manganese oxide batteries
challenging conventional assumptions, a team based at DOE’s
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory found an unexpected chemical
conversion reaction in a zinc-manganese oxide battery. If that
process can be controlled, it can increase energy density in
conventional batteries without increasing cost. That makes the
zinc-manganese
oxide battery a possible alternative for large-scale energy
storage.
3.Organosilicon electrolyte batteries
safer than the carbonate based solvent system in Li-ion batteries,
and non-explosive, University of Wisconson-Madison chemistry
professors Robert Hamers and Robert West developed organosilicon
(OS) based liquid solvents. The resulting electrolytes are much
safer.
4. Gold nanowire gel electrolyte batteries
Also seeking a better electrolyte for lithium ion batteries,
researchers at the University of California, Irvine experimented
with gels, which are not as combustible as liquids. They tried
coating gold nanowires with manganese dioxide, then covering them
with electrolyte gel. While nanowires are usually too delicate to use
in batteries, these had become resilient. When the researchers
charged the resulting electrode, they discovered that it went through
200,000 cycles without losing its ability to hold a charge. That
compares to 6,000 cycles in a conventional battery.
5. TankTwo String Cell™ batteries
For fast-charging batteries, TankTwo
looked at modularizing a battery. Their String Cell™ battery
contains a collection of small independent self-organizing cells.
Each string cell consists of plastic enclosure, covered with a
conductive material that allows it to quickly and easily form
contacts with others. An internal processing unit controls the
connections in the electrochemical cell. To facilitate quick charging
of an EV, the little balls contained in the battery are sucked out
and swapped for recharged cells at the service station. At the
station, the cells can be recharged at off-peak hours.
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