By Pamela Mansfield, JEOL USA  As the market for renewable energy sources and electric vehicles grows, the need for reliable, high-capacity energy storage is increasing too. Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) fit the bill in many ways, but plenty of challenges remain ahead, such as understanding their microstructure. This article describes how scanning electron microscopy (SEM) can…

In their latest redox flow battery report “Redox Flow Batteries 2021-2031”, IDTechEx estimated the role of medium duration energy storage in the context of larger penetration of variable renewable energy penetration. Up to date, variable renewable energy has reached a medium-low penetration rate between 10% and 40%. As investigated by academic research, the storage of…

Lead-acid battery manufacturer Crown Battery will power its manufacturing operations out of Fremont, Ohio, with 100% renewable energy, starting immediately. Crown has signed a contract with AEP Energy to source clean energy through AEP’s Integrated Renewable Energy (IRE) solution. This long-term, fixed-price retail energy option supports new, locally sourced wind and solar — for more…

Utility-scale mobile energy storage solution provider Power Edison announced it has been contracted by a U.S. utility to deliver a 3-MW/12-MWh mobile battery system this year. The lithium-based energy storage system will be sited on trailers. “We’re engaged with industry-leading utilities on mobile storage, developing techno-economic analyses, advanced engineered solutions, utility filings and commercial deployments,”…

Local utility Con Edison has installed a 1-MW lithium-ion battery in the Bronx to improve reliability along the City Island business strip. “Battery technology can help us accomplish several goals on behalf of our customers,” said Santee Hernandez, Con Edison project manager. “Power discharged from a battery when our customers need it the most means…

After acquiring the project in September 2020, Greenbacker Renewable Energy Co. (GREC) has announced that the Rawhide Prairie Solar + Storage project has been commissioned in Colorado. The 22-MW solar project has a 2-MWh Tesla battery pack on site. This is the first solar + storage project for GREC. “Rawhide Prairie Solar was our first…

EnergySage and NABCEP released the results of the sixth annual Solar Installer Survey, the largest and most comprehensive business survey of solar companies nationwide. Over 650 residential and commercial installers across the country participated in this year’s survey, which was fielded and authored by EnergySage in partnership with the North American Board of Certified Energy…

Blue Planet Energy has launched a new energy storage system, the Blue Ion HI. The stackable, maintenance-free lithium system is backed by a 15-year performance warranty to ensure reliable power delivery, day or night, on or off grid.  “The Blue Ion HI is an extremely reliable, no maintenance, long-term investment, and my customers love its high-quality,…

By David L. Chandler | MIT News Office The cost of the rechargeable lithium-ion batteries used for phones, laptops and cars has fallen dramatically over the last three decades and has been a major driver of the rapid growth of those technologies. But attempting to quantify that cost decline has produced ambiguous and conflicting results…

 By Chris Adam, Purdue Research Foundation If you want power, you lose battery life. If you want battery life, you lose power. That’s the situation facing users of most electronic devices – and it’s also the dilemma for electronics manufacturers. Purdue University innovators have come up with an invention to help. “Battery life technology, for…