IDTechEx estimates total demand for Li-ion batteries to have been over 200 GWh in 2019 and forecast Li-ion demand for plug-in electric cars alone to be nearly 350 GWh by 2025, but can supply meet this demand? Automotive manufacturers the world over are now pledging to electrify their fleets. However, many traditional automotive manufacturers were…
Chasing lithium ions on the move in a fast-charging battery
A team of scientists led by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has captured in real time how lithium ions move in lithium titanate (LTO), a fast-charging battery electrode material made of lithium, titanium, and oxygen. They discovered that distorted arrangements of lithium and surrounding atoms in…
Scientists learn more about the first hours of a lithium-ion battery’s life
By: Tom Rickey, PNNL The first hours of a lithium-ion battery’s life largely determine just how well it will perform. In those moments, a set of molecules self-assembles into a structure inside the battery that will affect the battery for years to come. This component, known as the solid-electrolyte interphase or SEI, has the crucial…
Energy storage startup SPARKZ licenses ORNL cobalt-free battery tech
Energy storage startup SPARKZ 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. The licensed technologies include cathode materials, a novel electrolyte…
Cathode “defects” improve battery performance
Engineers strive to design smartphones with longer-lasting batteries, electric vehicles that can drive for hundreds of miles on a single charge, and a reliable power grid that can store renewable energy for future use. Each of these technologies is within reach — that is, if scientists can build better cathode materials. To date, the typical…
Seeing inside a battery while it’s working
A new paper-thin radio-frequency detector designed to work inside a lithium-ion battery provides information about the battery’s health while charging and discharging. “It could enable researchers to check a battery’s function and capacity after years of storage without destroying it,” said Eric Sorte, a physicist at Sandia National Laboratories. The work, funded by Sandia’s Laboratory…
Battery storage, smart grid, and energy efficiency companies bring in $2.3 billion in VC funding in 2019
Mercom Capital Group, a global clean energy research and communications firm, released its report on funding and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity for the Battery Storage, Smart Grid, and Energy Efficiency sectors for 2019. Global VC funding (venture capital, private equity, and corporate venture capital) for Battery Storage, Smart Grid, and Efficiency companies in 2019…
A Peek into the Battery Technology Pipeline
Lithium ion is probably the most advanced technology available for the packs of rechargeable batteries you’ll buy this holiday season. The batteries also power the vast majority of consumer devices, electric vehicles, and grid storage systems. Despite their ubiquity, lithium-ion batteries have disadvantages. Metals used in the batteries are becoming expensive and one crucial…