It's the Batteries, Stupid!

[JRP3]

Price fixing of lithium batteries? http://www.law.com/jsp/nj/PubArticleNJ.jsp?id=1202576057659&slreturn=20120927091441
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20120821-705591.html

 

[JRP3]

Si Graphene anode triples battery capacity: CalBatterys new Si-graphene anode triples Li-ion battery capacity | ChargedEVs

CalBattery is now in the process of fast-tracking the commercialization of its GEN3 breakthrough battery anode material. Over the next two years the company plans to produce and sell its si-graphene anode material to global battery and EV OEMs, and to begin U.S. production of a limited quantity of specialized batteries for high-end applications.

 

[PopSmith]

Si Graphene anode triples battery capacity: CalBatterys new Si-graphene anode triples Li-ion battery capacity | ChargedEVs

That's pretty interesting. I wonder if that will be used car makers (and if Panasonic will have something similar) by the time Bluestar is launched.

 

[JRP3]

A bunch of battery research advances lately:
Green Car Congress: Rice University researchers develop inexpensive silicon-based anode for Li-ion batteries with good capacity and cycle life
Green Car Congress: Researchers show feasibility of lithium-metal-free anode for Li-air battery; addressing one of three main barriers to Li-air battery development
Green Car Congress: Nankai University team shows “MXenesâ€￾ promising anode materials for Li-ion batteries
Green Car Congress: Researchers in China propose new strategy for Li-S batteries: smaller sulfur molecules

 

[JRP3]

Battery research center at ANL http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9234200/DOE_wants_5X_battery_power_boost_in_5_years

Obviously "Power Boost" is the wrong terminology for improvements in density and price. Also, 5X improvement is completely unnecessary. Double the density, halve the price, game over, and anything more is just gravy.

 

[neroden]

Battery research center at ANL http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9234200/DOE_wants_5X_battery_power_boost_in_5_years

Obviously "Power Boost" is the wrong terminology for improvements in density and price. Also, 5X improvement is completely unnecessary. Double the density, halve the price, game over, and anything more is just gravy.

Indeed, the improvements needed to make electric cars mass-market are quite small.

However, the level of improvements needed to use solar power for nighttime load nationally, through battery storage, are a bit larger. So you can see why the Secretary of Energy would be aiming higher. We're going to achieve that level of improvements.

 

[user497]

Also, 5X improvement is completely unnecessary. Double the density, halve the price, game over, and anything more is just gravy.

Here is a different article on the same subject: Energy Department Launches For Battery Manhattan Project | TPM Idea Lab

Note that they specifically mention that they are not going to be working on Lithium batteries as others are already making good progress on them. So while this is definitely interesting, I don't think it will be applicable to EVs for a while:

Argonne notably did not include a target goal for improving the commonly used lithium-ion battery found in most electronics around the globe, from smartphones to tablets to laptops, because, as Chamberlain explained, there is already much work being done in this space by other capable teams, including other researchers at Argonne, and the Battery Hub wants to develop a more futuristic successor to that technology.

 

[RDoc]

Perhaps the flow batteries (external chemicals pumped through the cells) could be used for EV's if they could be made smaller.
Almost the same model as for ICE refilling, pull into a filling station and exchange the used chemicals for fresh ones. The station then refreshes the chemicals using grid electricity. Battery exchange in effect. I don't know if home recharging would be possible though.

 

[Robert.Boston]

The demands on energy storage devices for cars and for electric power grids are very different. Energy storage for cars has to be light and support high rates of discharge and reasonably high rates of charging. Energy storage for power grids has to be cheap, scalable, and support lots of cycles. To suppose that batteries are going to do both well is probably naive; to suppose that the same battery will do both well is implausible. (That said, I still think used car batteries are a great resource for grid-scale storage, but we need something more, sooner.)

 

[JRod0802]

Has this already been posted?

[video=vimeo;51873011]http://vimeo.com/51873011[/video]

 

[AndreN]

Charging a supercapacitor with enough capacity to move a car any reasonable distance is going to take longer than 60 seconds. Even if the supercapacitor only held 10kWh, charging in a minute would need power at 600kw.

 

[dpeilow]

Quantum entangled batteries could be the perfect power source | ExtremeTech

 

[TEG]

Surge in Battery Research Fuels Hope for Cheaper Electric Cars | KQEDs Climate Watch

 

[JRP3]

Plant compound could replace expensive Cobalt in batteries: http://www.nature.com/srep/2012/121211/srep00960/full/srep00960.html

 

[JRP3]

Battery geeks might like this video of lithium production operations: http://www.rockwoodlithium.com/prod...batteries/lithium_power_for_batteries.en.html

 

[Zzzz...]

Battery geeks might like this video of lithium production operations: http://www.rockwoodlithium.com/prod...batteries/lithium_power_for_batteries.en.html

Very interesting video. But I still think that aluminum-ion batteries are the future... Al-ion got 2.5 times more energy density vs li-ion plus enjoy abundant raw materials...

 

[JRP3]

Let us know when you get them working...:wink:

 

[JRP3]

Interview with Envia CEO, mentions Tesla:

They cannot bring the battery cost down with the chemistry they are using.

http://www.mercurynews.com/business...ws-interview-atul-kapadia-battery-maker-envia

 

[jerry33]

Interview with Envia CEO, mentions Tesla:
http://www.mercurynews.com/business...ws-interview-atul-kapadia-battery-maker-envia

Thread on this is here.

 

[dpeilow]

Promising

World-Record Battery Performance Achieved With Egg-Like Nanostructures - CleanTechnica