FAQ

In this second part of EEWorld’s “virtual roundtable” discussion on flow batteries, our panelists delve into the impact that the emergence of flow batteries is having on energy storage compared with conventional rechargeable batteries: What factors determine when flow batteries are more cost-effective than rechargeable batteries? How do the maintenance and monitoring needs of flow […]

The high interest in more economical energy storage these days yields a continual stream of news about advances in battery chemistry. Here are a couple recent developments of particular note: Capacitors with a high energy density — Capacitors generally have low energy densities relative to batteries or fuel cells. Researchers at the Dept. of Energy’s […]

Flow batteries have emerged as a commercial alternative that makes economic sense for certain application profiles. Additional development is still needed for flow batteries to be a mainstream energy storage technology. There are probably hundreds of research efforts worldwide. The following is a sampling of key areas of focus for flow battery research and development. […]

Flow batteries are suited for use in several application areas, including utility-scale energy storage, microgrids, renewables integration, backup power, and remote and off-grid power. Flow batteries are highly scalable, and their power and energy ratings can also be scaled independently. They have very little or no self-discharge current. Flow batteries have demonstrated cycle lives of […]

The heart of a flow battery is a specially designed regenerative fuel cell module. A conventional regenerative fuel cell operates on the basis of a reversible electrolysis electrochemical process and can be either an open system (where water can be added, and hydrogen and oxygen removed) or a closed system. These electrolysis-based regenerative fuel cells […]

The first part of EEWorld’s two-part “virtual roundtable” discussion on energy harvesting considers technical challenges and design tradeoffs for engineers using energy harvesting power sources. Joining us for this virtual roundtable are: Dr. André Mansano (AM), CTO at Nowi; Graeme Clark (GC), Marketing Manager, Energy Harvesting Business Unit, at Renesas Electronics, Ken Imai (KI) Sr. […]

It pays to know techniques for mitigating leakage current and over- voltages in uses where several supercapacitors work in parallel. Michele Kinman Advanced Linear Devices Inc. In applications requiring rapid charge/discharge cycles or short-term energy storage, you’ll often find supercapacitors connected in series or parallel. However, there’s a potential problem when supercaps are wired together […]

Not all primary batteries offer the low annual self-discharge rate needed for the lengthy lifespan of remote wireless devices consuming microamp-level currents. Sol Jacobs, Tadiran Batteries The vast majority of remote wireless devices are powered by primary (non-rechargeable) batteries that range from consumer-grade to industrial grade. Consumer-grade alkaline batteries deliver higher discharge rates of energy, […]

by Sanjeev Manadhar, Texas Instruments Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and electric vehicles (EVs) are popular because they have low (to zero) emissions and fewer maintenance requirements while offering better efficiency and drive performance. New HEV/EV companies are emerging, while existing automakers are investing more in HEV/EV to compete for market share. The heart of the […]

One facet of EV ownership: Thinking of your daily commute power consumption as equivalent to the sunlight hitting 20 ft2 of your lawn. Rudye McGlothlin, Silicon Labs Earlier this year I took my first step into the EV future by buying a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) – a Chevrolet Volt. A unique car in […]