Energy Storage

Battery performance can make or break the electric vehicle experience, from driving range to charging time to the lifetime of the car. Now, artificial intelligence has made dreams like recharging an EV in the time it takes to stop at a gas station a more likely reality, and could help improve other aspects of battery technology.

While at the proof-of-concept stage, it shows enormous potential as a portable power supply in several practical applications including electric vehicles, phones and wearable technology.

CPI announced the success of its £250,000 collaborative project with LiNa Energy and Lancaster University to demonstrate the proof-of-concept of LiNa's novel sodium-nickel-chloride battery technology.

Ahead of the IDTechEx Show! Berlin, 13-14 May 2020, IDTechEx looks back at the stories of some companies propelled to success by the IDTechEx Launchpad initiative.

Graphene is on the cusp of significant market growth; the opportunities are exciting and diverse, each with significant potential. Graphene and 2D Materials Europe 2020 (13-14 May, Berlin) is the largest B2B event on the topic with a dedicated focus on the commercial frontiers. www.GrapheneEurope.tech

Aggreko plc is working with RE Power Group to produce electricity from clean biogas for a facility in Thailand.

MIRWEC Coating/ Yasui Seiki offers test and contract coating services that give you access to Yasui Seiki's state-of-the-art, precision thin film coating machines equipped with patented MICROGRAVURE™ and slot die coating systems. We provide high quality thin and uniform toll coating services to major corporations around the world. Our unique technology and know-how were cultivated by Yasui Seiki's profound knowledge of R2R coating machines and Labo Japan's expertise in R2R coating techniques. MIRWEC Coating also serves as the window for Yasui Seiki Japan and helps the US customers acquire one-of-a-kind, precision coating machines, from lab to production scale.

RD Graphene are a company that manufacture 3D graphene for sensing and energy storage applications. IDTechEx spoke to Alastair Carrington (commercial director).

JenaBatteries GmbH and BASF are cooperating in the production of an electrolyte for a battery technology that is particularly suitable for stationary storage of electricity from renewable energy sources and for stabilizing conventional transmission grids.

Alpiq and Mercedes-Benz Energy GmbH have concluded a delivery agreement addressing the stationary use of electric car batteries. To achieve their objective of using resources sustainably and increasing the economic efficiency of electric mobility, Alpiq and Mercedes-Benz Energy are teaming up to make batteries available for industrial use.

Vehicles for construction, agriculture and mining CAM have become one industry served by giants such as Caterpillar, CNH Industrial, John Deere and Komatsu but also small businesses making the new requirements such as drone systems and weeding and mine survey robots.

The addition of energy storage and GEMS solution to RECO's generation resources will provide additional flexibility to integrate renewables into the local grid and secure reliability while eliminating the need for mechanical spinning reserve. The storage system will provide virtual spinning reserve capacity needed to maintain stability of the grid - particularly important for the energy security of an island.

Nanoramic specializes in energy storage technology and material solutions based on nano-carbons. Nano-carbons have exceptional electrical, thermal and mechanical properties at the nano-scale level. We synthesize and incorporate nano-carbons in various materials and transfer these properties at the macroscale level. Nanoramic chooses an advanced and proprietary combination of advanced materials, creating new materials that can be made to meet the requirements of several applications. Nanoramic's ultracapacitor division, FastCAP Ultracapacitors, is an industry leader in harsh environment energy storage, producing the only ultracapacitors capable of operating in temperatures up to 150C and under conditions of high shock and vibration.

New research could lead to batteries that can pack more power per pound and last longer, based on the long-sought goal of using pure lithium metal as one of the battery's two electrodes, the anode.

Ampcera is a U.S. based innovator and global leader in the development and commercialization of solid-state electrolyte materials and manufacturing technologies. With 100+ industry customers and R&D partners from 10+ countries, Ampcera is currently collaborating with major automotive OEMs and battery makers to accelerate the integration of its solid-state electrolyte technologies in high-performance lithium batteries with high energy density, low cost, inherent safety advantages and fast charging performance. Ampcera is headquartered in the Silicon Valley in Milpitas, CA with a research and development laboratory located in Tucson, AZ.

Energy storage startup SPARKZ Inc has exclusively licensed five battery technologies from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory designed to eliminate cobalt metal in lithium-ion batteries. The advancement is aimed at accelerating the production of electric vehicles and energy storage solutions for the power grid.

Leclanché are a premium European battery maker and energy storage solutions provider based in Switzerland. The company supplies battery solutions to many industries, from industrial vehicles and stationary energy storage to robotics.

Former racing catamaran turned ship of the future, Energy Observer has made waves as it has been navigating its six-year odyssey around the world as the first energy-autonomous hydrogen vessel. Toyota, official partner of Energy Observer and an avid supporter of their project from the start, announced that it has developed a fuel cell system for maritime applications, with its first delivery destined for Energy Observer.

Developed by academics, liquid air energy storage could play a part in helping to crack the global challenge faced by electricity providers of balancing power supply and demand - thanks to a major research project.