Batteries and Energy Storage Archives - Page 2 of 4

DOE awards $30M to secure domestic supply chain of critical materials

The U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, announced $30 million in funding for 13 national lab and university-led research projects to develop new technologies that will help secure the supply of critical materials that build clean energy technologies.

Understanding silicon failures opens research path for higher-capacity lithium-ion batteries

Research with nanowires at Los Alamos National Laboratory, N.M., reveals an electrolyte’s role in blocking electrical current inside anodes and suggests coating might solve the problem, opening fresh avenues for harnessing the potential for silicon to revolutionize high-capacity, long-lasting batteries for everything from cell phones to automobiles.

Better catalysts from super-fast heating

HighT-Tech, Md., has won The Spinoff Prize 2021 for developing a technique to make alloys that could improve catalysts or be used to build better batteries. The method enables the startup to fine-tune the catalytic activity of the materials and discover new and potentially more efficient catalysts.

Researchers develop new combined process for 3D printing

Chemists at Martin Luther University (MLU), Halle-Wittenberg, Germany have developed a way to integrate liquids directly into materials during a 3D printing process.

Harper and Novonix announce strategic alliance on specialized furnace technology for battery materials

Harper, Buffalo, N.Y., has announced a strategic alliance with Novonix Limited to develop specialized furnace technology designed to enhance synthetic graphite manufacturing process. This provides Novonix a local, established supplier of key equipment to produce greater quantities of material and scale quickly and cost effectively. This is, in turn, aimed at supporting electric vehicles and energy storage systems.

AMD to acquire Xilinx, creating the industry’s high performance computing leader

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (Silicon Valley, Calif.) and Xilinx Inc. (San Jose, Calif.) announced they have entered into a definitive agreement for AMD to acquire Xilinx in an all-stock transaction valued at $35 billion.

Team examines operating limits in solid-state batteries to improve range of EVs

A collaboration among researchers at Vanderbilt University (Nashville, Tenn.), the University of Pennsylvania, (Philadelphia), the Advanced Photon Source, (Lemont, Ill.), and Toyota Research Institute North America (TRINA), a division of Toyota Motor North America R&D (Ann Arbor, Mich.), examined operating limits and failure mechanisms in a family of solid-state batteries based on thiophosphate materials.

Cummins receives federal grants to advance solid oxide fuel cells

Cummins Inc., Columbus, Ind., received two federal grants totaling $4.6 million to advance commercialization of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology, which could play a critical role in helping commercial and industrial customers reduce their carbon impact while providing energy resiliency and cutting costs.

Binghamton University to acquire $1.75M HAXPES x-ray system for materials research

Binghamton University, New York, announces that the school will acquire a HArd x-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy system (or HAXPES), which allows researchers to get detailed information about a device or material without taking it apart.

Zeiss ion beam microscopes feature advances in analytics, tomography, data integrity

Zeiss, Germany, announces that its ion beam microscopes now have new capabilities that cover advancements in analytics, tomography, sample preparation, and data integrity.

Thermo Scientific Helios Hydra DualBeam SEM delivers four different ions as primary beam

Thermo Scientific, Hillsboro, Oregon, announces that researchers can now apply a range of ion beam species within one focused ion beam scanning electron microscope with the new Helios Hydra DualBeam system.

Carpenter to provide soft magnetic alloys for electric aircraft engine demonstrators

Carpenter Technology, Philadelphia, announced at the Paris Air Show its involvement with multiple OEMs to help with electric aircraft development by providing advanced soft magnetic alloy expertise and ultra-efficient electrical components for R&D and demonstrator motors and engines.

Dept. of Energy to invest $32 million in projects to develop new functional materials

The U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, announces that it will invest $32 million over the next four years to accelerate the design of new materials through use of supercomputers.

Mineral and organic acids extract rare earth elements from phosphate rock waste

Researchers from Rutgers University-New Brunswick, N.J., and members of the Critical Materials Institute in Ames, Iowa, announce that they have found a possible new source of rare earth elements in phosphate rock waste, and have developed an environmentally friendly way to extract the elements.

Mineral and organic acids extract rare earth elements from phosphate rock waste

Nickel sheet with nanoscale pores weighs less than titanium but is just as strong

In a new study published in Nature Scientific Reports, university researchers announce that they have fabricated a sheet of nickel with nanoscale pores that make it as strong as titanium but four to five times lighter.

ATI Metals and Bruker partner to develop higher-performance niobium-based superconductors

Allegheny Technologies Inc., Pittsburgh, and Bruker Energy & Supercon Technologies (BEST), a wholly owned subsidiary of Bruker Corp., announce that they have entered into a joint technology development agreement to advance state-of-the-art niobium-based superconductors.

Artemis acquires Superior Technical Ceramics for its range of advanced ceramics

Superior Technical Ceramics (STC), St. Albans, Vt., has been acquired by Artemis Capital Partners for its diverse range of advanced ceramics for technical applications such as those that must function in high heat, corrosive environments, thermal management challenges, mechanical wear problems, electrical insulation requirements, and high temperature/pressure conditions.

Metalysis powers up industrial-scale plant for solid-state production of metal powders

Metalysis, England, is powering up the world’s first commercial plant based on solid-state production (Cambridge process) of metal alloy powders at its Materials Manufacturing Centre in Wath upon Dearne, South Yorkshire.

Research team develops method for 3D printing complex graphene components

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Calif., announce that their researchers have developed a novel way to 3D print complex objects of graphene, the form of carbon that is one of the world’s strongest materials.

Japanese researchers discover 16 million tons of rare-earth deposits in deep-sea mud

Several Japanese universities, research groups, and government agencies published an article in the April 10 edition of the online journal Scientific Reports describing results of their analysis of the rare-earth metals they discovered in deep-sea mud near Japan back in 2013.

Prof. Zhigang Fang elected to National Academy of Inventors for innovations in metals

The National Academy of Inventors, Washington, D.C., announces that Prof. Zhigang Zak Fang has been elected to the rank of NAI Fellow.

Concentrations of rare earth elements >300 ppm found in American coal basins

The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory, Pittsburgh, reports that its engineers have found high rare earth element concentrations in coal samples taken from the Illinois, Northern Appalachian, Central Appalachian, Rocky Mountain Coal Basins, and the Pennsylvania Anthracite region.

Material could help robots self-heal (with video)

Researchers created a self-healing, transparent, highly stretchable material that can be electrically activated and used to improve batteries, electronic devices, and robots.

Atom-sized tunnels may lead to better battery

Battery researchers seeking improved electrode materials have focused on “tunneled” structures that make it easier for charge-carrying ions to move in and out of the electrode.

Glow-in-the-dark dye could fuel liquid batteries

A dye called BODIPY has special chemical properties that could facilitate energy storage.

Scrap metal makes a better battery

Engineers at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, used bits of metal scraps and a household chemical to create the world’s first steel-brass battery that can store energy at levels comparable to lead-acid batteries.

University at Buffalo receives $2.9 million for modeling/simulations lab

The University at Buffalo, N.Y., has received a $2.9 million National Science Foundation grant to transform the traditional role of a database as a repository for information into an automated computer laboratory that rapidly collects, interprets, and learns from massive amounts of information.

Enhanced 3D look inside batteries

A team of chemists has developed a method to yield highly detailed, 3D images of the insides of batteries. The technique, based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), offers an enhanced approach to monitor the condition of these power sources in real time.