Halo Microelectronics announced the release of its HL7040C, a highly integrated family of 2x2mm single-cell Li-Ion and Li-Pol linear chargers. The HL7040C is ideal for portable applications, including smartphones, PDAs, MP3 players, and low-powered handheld devices with limited board space, as it operates from either a USB port or an AC adapter. The high-input voltage […]

Rare earths play an important part in the sustainability of electric vehicles (EVs). While there are sustainability challenges related to EV batteries, rare earths are not used in lithium-ion batteries. They are necessary for the magnets that form the main propulsion motors. The batteries mostly rely on lithium and cobalt (not rare earths). At the…

Several things. First, quick charge is used with devices like smart phones and tablet computers, while extreme fast charging (XFC) is used with electric vehicles (EVs). Quick charge (QC) is generally slower than extreme fast charge. QC has competitors like universal serial bus power delivery (USB-PD), IEC 62680-1-2:2022, and USB extended power range (EPR). Tesla…

While lithium-ion battery chemistry dominates the current electric vehicle market, scientists are working to develop innovative battery chemistries that address the known challenges the existing chemistry presents. By Adam Kimmel for Mouser Electronics Sales of electric vehicles (EVs) continue to outpace the overall automotive segment, with EV market shares of 5.2% in Q1 and 5.6%…

A research team comprised of Princeton, Vanderbilt, and Argonne and Oak Ridge National Labs researchers claims to have uncovered a hidden flaw behind failures in solid-state batteries. In a solid-state battery, ions move through the battery within a solid material, in contrast to traditional lithium-ion batteries, in which ions move in a liquid. Solid-state cells…

Leland Teschler • Executive Editor If you wandered around the Society of Automotive Engineers’ annual trade show earlier this year, you would have seen a number of ideas aimed at cutting power consumption in electric vehicles. One development in that category was from a company called BetterFrost. It devised a more energy efficient windshield defroster.…

There are many alternatives to Li-ion batteries, including fuel cells, various types of supercapacitors, redox flow batteries, novel Li-based chemistries such as lithium-sulfur (LiS), and more. This FAQ focuses on alternative non-lithium rechargeable battery chemistries, including calcium-ion (Ca-ion), magnesium-ion (Mg-ion), sodium-ion (Na-ion), zinc-ion (Zn-ion), iron-air (Fe-air), and sodium-sulfur (NaS) that can be more readily integrated…

The speed at which a battery can be recharged is measured using the “C-rate,” where “C” is the battery’s capacity in mA or A. At a 1 C rate, a battery can be completely recharged in one hour. The speed of charge primarily depends on the voltage. For example: For small batteries used in portable…

Marelli expands its range of battery management technologies for electric vehicles with a new state-of-the-art Wireless Distributed Battery Management System (wBMS). This technology eliminates the wired physical connections typically needed in other Battery Management systems (BMS) architectures, allowing for greater flexibility, increased efficiency, improved reliability, and reduced costs, all crucial aspects of electric vehicles. Marelli […]

A new Battery Test System (BTS) for electric vehicle (EV) testing is designed to help tier-one suppliers and automakers adapt to the complexity and scale of EV battery testing through enhanced customization, automation, and connection of data across the entire battery test workflow to ensure performance and accelerate time to market. Batteries are at the…