MVRacing
04-16-2009, 11:19 AM
From EV World
Battery Breakthroughs
The top news items of the week were two promising battery announcements starting with MIT's lithium ion battery that can be charged and discharged nearly as quickly as an ultracapacitor. Researchers in Cambridge, Mass. found that by adjusting the ratio of lithium, iron and phosphate that they could dramatically speed up the movement of ions across the electrode.
How dramatic? In seconds instead of minutes or hours, though as usual, news reports don't specify the current rates, size of the battery pack, nor or the charge control technology is--for starters. The media, however, was so giddy about the report that Google has, as of this writing, indexed nearly 300 news stories about the "breakthrough," seeing it as speeding the development of electric cars, though how that would happen wasn't entirely clear. Here's why.
Being able to charge and discharge rapidly, especially if there is no degradation of the cell, is of value for improving energy recovery from an EV's regenerative braking system, only about 10 percent of which is typically recaptured from the vehicle's kinetic energy. It also will be useful in improving vehicle acceleration. Blended-mode plug-ins should also benefit as a result, though series hybrids like the Volt probably won't, as they require more energy-dense cells.
Where MIT's "breakthrough" can be of real significance is in its purported cost advantage. The developers contend that their new coating material reduces the need for other mediating compounds in the battery, and since it can be applied using current manufacturing processes, battery costs can be reduced.
By how much? The developers haven't said, but Japan's NEDO (http://evworld.com/news.cfm?newsid=20569) (New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization) has--though not necessarily for MIT's technology, of course. Instead, it has issued a technology roadmap that sees battery costs eventually dropping significantly below current levels by 2020.
The roadmap forecasts the development will be focused on two types of batteries: an output density-oriented type intended for plug-in hybrid and hybrid cars, and an energy density-oriented type for electric cars. Currently, energy-dense battery packs (not cells) are estimated to cost approximately US$2,016/kWh, NEDO researchers estimate. By 2020, their goal is to achieve a price of one-tenth that figure and to increase the Watt hours/kg two-and-half times, from 100Wh/kg to 250Wh/kg.
Perhaps even more intriguing than MIT's supercharged battery is another "breakthrough" announcement: a magnetic spin battery (http://evworld.com/news.cfm?newsid=20589).
The device created by University of Miami Physicist Stewart E. Barnes, of the College of Arts and Sciences and his collaborators can store energy in magnets rather than through chemical reactions. Like a wind-up toy car, the spin battery is "wound up" by applying a large magnetic field--no chemistry involved. The secret behind this technology is the use of nano-magnets to induce an electromotive force. It uses the same principles as those in a conventional battery, except in a more direct fashion. The energy stored in a battery, be it in an iPod or an electric car, is in the form of chemical energy. When something is turned "on" a chemical reaction occurs, producing an electric current. The new technology converts the magnetic energy directly into electrical energy, without a chemical reaction. The electrical current made in this process is called a spin-polarized current, based on a new technology called "spintronics."
When we might expect to see such a "battery" isn't clear, but it does make for interesting speculation. Imagine a 'solid-state' battery that overcomes the limitations of today's most advanced battery. Of course, we've a way to go before we get there.
"Although the actual device has a diameter about that of a human hair and cannot even light up an LED (light-emitting diode--a light source used as electronic component), the energy that might be stored in this way could potentially run a car for miles."
Battery Breakthroughs
The top news items of the week were two promising battery announcements starting with MIT's lithium ion battery that can be charged and discharged nearly as quickly as an ultracapacitor. Researchers in Cambridge, Mass. found that by adjusting the ratio of lithium, iron and phosphate that they could dramatically speed up the movement of ions across the electrode.
How dramatic? In seconds instead of minutes or hours, though as usual, news reports don't specify the current rates, size of the battery pack, nor or the charge control technology is--for starters. The media, however, was so giddy about the report that Google has, as of this writing, indexed nearly 300 news stories about the "breakthrough," seeing it as speeding the development of electric cars, though how that would happen wasn't entirely clear. Here's why.
Being able to charge and discharge rapidly, especially if there is no degradation of the cell, is of value for improving energy recovery from an EV's regenerative braking system, only about 10 percent of which is typically recaptured from the vehicle's kinetic energy. It also will be useful in improving vehicle acceleration. Blended-mode plug-ins should also benefit as a result, though series hybrids like the Volt probably won't, as they require more energy-dense cells.
Where MIT's "breakthrough" can be of real significance is in its purported cost advantage. The developers contend that their new coating material reduces the need for other mediating compounds in the battery, and since it can be applied using current manufacturing processes, battery costs can be reduced.
By how much? The developers haven't said, but Japan's NEDO (http://evworld.com/news.cfm?newsid=20569) (New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization) has--though not necessarily for MIT's technology, of course. Instead, it has issued a technology roadmap that sees battery costs eventually dropping significantly below current levels by 2020.
The roadmap forecasts the development will be focused on two types of batteries: an output density-oriented type intended for plug-in hybrid and hybrid cars, and an energy density-oriented type for electric cars. Currently, energy-dense battery packs (not cells) are estimated to cost approximately US$2,016/kWh, NEDO researchers estimate. By 2020, their goal is to achieve a price of one-tenth that figure and to increase the Watt hours/kg two-and-half times, from 100Wh/kg to 250Wh/kg.
Perhaps even more intriguing than MIT's supercharged battery is another "breakthrough" announcement: a magnetic spin battery (http://evworld.com/news.cfm?newsid=20589).
The device created by University of Miami Physicist Stewart E. Barnes, of the College of Arts and Sciences and his collaborators can store energy in magnets rather than through chemical reactions. Like a wind-up toy car, the spin battery is "wound up" by applying a large magnetic field--no chemistry involved. The secret behind this technology is the use of nano-magnets to induce an electromotive force. It uses the same principles as those in a conventional battery, except in a more direct fashion. The energy stored in a battery, be it in an iPod or an electric car, is in the form of chemical energy. When something is turned "on" a chemical reaction occurs, producing an electric current. The new technology converts the magnetic energy directly into electrical energy, without a chemical reaction. The electrical current made in this process is called a spin-polarized current, based on a new technology called "spintronics."
When we might expect to see such a "battery" isn't clear, but it does make for interesting speculation. Imagine a 'solid-state' battery that overcomes the limitations of today's most advanced battery. Of course, we've a way to go before we get there.
"Although the actual device has a diameter about that of a human hair and cannot even light up an LED (light-emitting diode--a light source used as electronic component), the energy that might be stored in this way could potentially run a car for miles."