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Tag: lithium batteries

  • BMW, Toyota Team Up to Develop Future Battery Technology, Hydrogen Fuel-Cell System

    BMW and Toyota today announced that the car companies have teamed up to develop a new fuel-cell system and the future of lithium battery technology. The companies signed binding agreements to collaborate on several projects meant to usher in future vehicle technology.

    “[Toyota] and the BMW Group share the same strategic vision of future sustainable mobility,” said Norbert Reithofer, chairman of the board at BMW. “In light of the technological changes ahead, the entire automotive industry faces tremendous challenges, which we also regard as an opportunity. This collaboration is an important building block in keeping both companies on a successful course in the future.”

    A new fuel-cell system will be jointly developed by the companies, which includes a hydrogen tank, motor, and battery. The project is slated to be completed in 2020, and codes and standards for the hydrogen infrastructure will also be developed.

    BMW and Toyota will also jointly develop lightweight technologies for vehicle bodies. The research will include reinforced composites, which could be included in another joint venture: a mid-size sports car. A feasibility study on the jointly designed car is due by the end of 2013, and the companies will combine their technology and engineering know-how to “maximise customer satisfaction.

    Perhaps the most far-reaching collaboration the companies will undertake is the development of lithium-air battery technology. Such batteries would have energy densities far greater than current lithium-ion batteries.

    “It is just over a year since we signed our collaborative MoU [memorandum of understanding), and with each day as our relationship strengthens, we feel acutely that we are making steadfast progress,” said Akio Toyoda, President of Toyota. “Now, we are entering the phase that promises the fruit. While placing importance on what we learn from the joint development, we will work hard together in reaching our common goal of making ever-better cars.”

  • Super Batteries Use Silicon, Tiny Holes To Improve Life, Recharge Time

    Batteries are on everybody’s mind these days. As smart devices evolve to perform more complex actions, the batteries that power those devices must hold up their end of the deal and provide sufficient charge time. Battery issues have plagued the newest release of the most popular smartphone in the world: the iPhone 4S.

    Will the lithium-ion batteries of the future hold a charge for over a week and only take 15 minutes to fully recharge? According to engineers at Northwestern University, that reality is only 3 to 5 years away.

    When creating their new super-lithium-ion battery, the researchers attempted to tackle two big problems of the technology – “energy capacity and charge rate.” Basically, how long the battery holds a charge and how quickly you can charge it back up from dead.

    Lithium-ion batteries work through a reaction that sends ions back and forth between the battery ends, the anode and cathode, through the electrolyte. As of right now, lithium-ion batteries are limited by the charge density – or how full you can pack the ends with the ions. That affects how long the batteries last. They are also limited by how fast ions can travel from the electrolyte to the anode. That limits how fast they can be recharged.

    Here is the current state of these batteries:

    In current rechargeable batteries, the anode — made of layer upon layer of carbon-based graphene sheets — can only accommodate one lithium atom for every six carbon atoms. To increase energy capacity, scientists have previously experimented with replacing the carbon with silicon, as silicon can accommodate much more lithium: four lithium atoms for every silicon atom.

    Except silicon is unstable during the charging process. The engineers have apparently fixed that issue:

    To stabilize the silicon in order to maintain maximum charge capacity, they sandwiched clusters of silicon between the graphene sheets. This allowed for a greater number of lithium atoms in the electrode while utilizing the flexibility of graphene sheets to accommodate the volume changes of silicon during use.

    So the addition of silicon allows for the batteries to hold a charge longer, lasting 10 times as long as current lithium-ion batteries. As far as the speed of the recharge is concerned, the team uses tiny holes to create “shortcuts” for the ions traveling back to the anode. This apparently reduces the recharge time tenfold.

    iPhones, tablets, even electric cars could benefit from this research. Can you even imagine a world where your smartphone only needed a charge once a week and that charge only took a few minutes? Let us know in the comments.

    [Image Courtesy]

  • Apple’s Lithium Batteries Protected After House Vote

    Apple’s Lithium Batteries Protected After House Vote

    The House of Representatives has passed legislation that would bar new rules concerning the transportation of lithium batteries.  The proposed new rules would classify the batteries as hazardous materials and thus subject them to tighter regulations regarding their shipment.

    Congressional Democrats backed the regulations proposed by the pilot unions, among others that attempt to limit the shipment of lithium batteries whether stand alone or packaged inside a laptop, digital camera or cellphone.  According to Bloomberg, the regulators say that the batteries are a risk to overheat and ignite.

    The proposed rules, filed on behalf of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (part of the Department of Transportation), would affect packaging and transportation of the lithium batteries.  From the official proposal:

    The proposed changes are intended to enhance safety by ensuring that all lithium batteries are designed to withstand normal transportation conditions. This would include provisions to ensure all lithium batteries are packaged to reduce the possibility of damage that could lead to a catastrophic incident, and minimize the consequences of an incident.

    Why are lithium batteries so dangerous, according to the Department of Transportation?

    Lithium batteries are hazardous in transportation because they present both chemical (e.g., flammable electrolytes) and electrical hazards. If not safely packaged and handled, lithium batteries can present a significant risk in transportation. Batteries which are misused, mishandled, improperly packaged, improperly stored, overcharged, or defective can overheat and ignite and, once ignited, fires can be especially difficult to extinguish. Overheating has the potential to create a thermal runaway, a chain reaction leading to self-heating and release of the battery’s stored energy. In general, the risks posed by all batteries are a function of battery size and chemistry. The high energy density (i.e., high energy to weight ratio) of lithium batteries increases the consequences of a short circuit or fire posing a greater risk in transportation.

    Yikes.

    An analysis was commissioned and it was predicted that the new rules could cost companies like Apple, Panasonic and Samsung $1.13 billion the first year is costs relating to training, packaging and transportation.  As of now, however, those companies need not worry about the projected costs as the newly elected Republican House of Representatives has voted to kill the new rules.  A similar but different bill will be up for debate in the Senate at a later time.