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Post tags: "sustainable energy", alternative energy, Andre Borschberg, bertrand piccard, California, fuel-free airplane, green transportation, HB-SIA, moffett air filed, mountain view, NASA Ames Research Center, photovoltaic panels, renewable energy, solar impulse, solar impulse across america, Solar Power, solar powered airplane, sun-powered plane, world's first solar plane

As the clean tech and electric vehicle industries grow, there is an ever greater demand for lithium – the key ingredient in the lithium-ion batteries used to store energy in EVs, laptop computers and a host of other devices. At present the US imports around 80 percent of its lithium, but the University of Wyoming’s Carbon Management Institute just discovered a massive reserve that could transform the US from a “significant lithium importer to an independent lithium producer.”

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Post tags: "solar energy", carbon management institute, li batteries, li-ion, lithium, lithium batteries, lithium ion, lithium salt, natural resources, Rock Springs Uplift, unveristy of wyoming, wind energy, wyoming lithium

The Solar Impulse just completed its final test flight before it travels across the U.S. without using a single drop of fuel. The plane spent most of yesterday cruising around 3,500 feet over the San Francisco Bay, giving many people a chance to see the giant solar aircraft in action. The “Cross America 2013” tour is scheduled to kick off next Wednesday, May 1st, when Solar Impulse co-founder and pilot Bertrand Piccard embarks upon the first leg of the journey from San Francisco to New York.

Read the rest of Solar Impulse Completes Final Test Flight Over San Francisco Before its Sun-Powered Journey Across America

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Post tags: "solar energy", bertrand piccard, energy efficient plane, fuel-free airplane, lightweight airplane, renewable energy sources, solar impulse, Solar Impulse Cross America 2013, Solar Impulse HB-SIA, solar panels, solar powered aircraft, solar powered plane

SolarWorld and PC-Aero just announced plans to launch two new solar-powered electric aircraft at the AERO Global Show for General Aviation in Friedrichshafen, Germany this month. The show, scheduled to begin tomorrow, will feature the SolarWorld eOne prototype aircraft and an improved Elektra One Solar.

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Post tags: AERO Global Show for General Aviation, electric aircraft, electric plane, Elektra One Solar, elektra one solar plane, ILA Berlin Air Show, lithium ion battery, PC Aero, solar powered aircraft, solar powered plane, SolarWorld, SolarWorld eOne

With lithium ion batteries, it used to be that you would have to choose between power and storage capacity. But researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have proven that it is possible to have the best of both worlds with their new microbattery. Led by William P. King, the team published their results in the journal Nature Commincations this week. Their technology could enable radio signals that could be broadcast 30 times farther and create devices 30 times smaller. The amazing new battery is able to be charged 1,000 times faster than rival batteries, and it’s about 2,000 times more powerful than its competitors.

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Post tags: anode, cathode, charge, electropolishing, lithium ion battery, microstructure, nature communications, power, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, william p. king

From cell phones to electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries are the power pack of choice. They are capable of keeping large amounts of energy in a small space with relatively little weight, making them an efficient means of saving and delivering electricity. Researchers led by Maksym Kovalenko from the Laboratory of Inorganic Chemistry at ETH Zurich and Empa have developed a battery using tin nanocrystals for the anode that enable twice as much energy to be stored.

Read the rest of Tiny Tin Nanocrystals Help Form the Lithium-Ion Battery of the Future

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Post tags: anode, electrolyte, EMPA, ETH Zurich, lithium ion battery, maksym kovalenko, nanocrystal, nanomaterial, tin

Range anxiety is a much-discussed concern among drivers—and potential drivers—of electric vehicles, and in attempt to thwart it, automakers are trying to install more EV charging stations, offering free gas-powered rentals for longer trips and, of course, developing batteries with a substantially longer range. Israeli start-up Phinergy believes they might just have the answer: aluminum-air batteries that can go for thousands of miles on a single charge. This alone might sound like it’s on the ambitious side, but the company believes the batteries could be installed in production vehicles as soon as 2017!

Read the rest of Phinergy’s Recyclable Aluminum-Air Battery Could Power Electric Vehicles for Thousands of Miles

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Post tags: aluminum air, Car Battery, electric car, electric vehicle, ev battery, green energy, green transportation, phinergy, range anxiety, recycle battery

Researchers in Singapore have developed a new nanomaterial that functions like the best Swiss army knife in the world. The material, known as Multi-use Titanium Dioxide (TiO2), can produce energy, it can generate hydrogen, and it can even produce clean water. But that’s not all: The remarkable material can also be formed into flexible solar cells and it can double the lifespan of lithium-ion batteries. And with bacteria-killing properties, it can also be used in new antibacterial bandages.

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Post tags: Darren Sun, desalination, green technology, hydrogen, lithium-ion batteries, Multi-use Titanium Dioxide, nanomaterial, nanoparticles, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Solar Cell, TiO2, titanium

Today’s lithium-ion batteries are expensive and bulky – which is why Toyota is currently developing two new types of ultra-efficient batteries to power its electric vehicles. Toyota is conducting research on solid-state batteries and lithium-air batteries that promise to be more compact and be able to store more energy than lithium-ion batteries – and the automaker plans to switch to these new technologies by 2020.

Read the rest of Toyota Developing Revolutionary Solid-State and Lithium-Air Electric Vehicle Batteries, Aims to Launch by 2020

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Post tags: all-solid-state batteries, compact packaging of solid-state batteries, Lithium Polymer Battery, lithium-air batteries, lithium-air batteries store 50 times more energy than lithium-ion batteries, lithium-ion batteries, lithium-ion-phosphate, prius plug-in, RAV4 Electric Vehicle, size of lithium-ion batteries, Toyota

If you have ever found yourself a little underwhelmed by the performance of electric vehicles, the European Commission is out to change your mind with the new VOLAR-e high-performance electric sports car. The VOLAR-e is one of the most powerful electric cars ever built with an output of 1,000 horsepower from four electric motors.

Read the rest of 1000 Horsepower VOLAR-e Racer is One of the Most Powerful Electric Cars Ever Built

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Post tags: Applus IDIADA car, Applus IDIADA Electric Vehicle, concept car, eco driving, eco racing, Eco Racing Car, Electric Car racing, electric concept car, electric vehicles, European Commission vehicle, Volar-E EV, Volar-E Racing

In Guatemala, over half a million homes are without electricity. That means these families rely on candles or kerosene lamps to do homework, read or eat dinner at night. Quetsol, a renewable energy company based in Guatemala, is seeking to address this with pay-as-you-go solar kits that provide affordable power. To help raise funding for the project, Quetsol’s CEO is staying in a completely dark room until the company reaches a goal of $50,000.

Read the rest of Quetsol CEO Lives in the Dark to Raise Funding for Pay-As-You-Go Solar Power in Guatemala

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Post tags: green electricity Guatemala, green energy, Guatemala Solar Power, Guatemalan power, Juan Rodriguez, Pay As You Go Rural Electricity, Quetsol PAYG, Quetsol Solar power, Rural electricity

Scientists at the Univeristy of Science and Technology of China have developed an environmentally friendly method of creating carbon nanotube aerogels. The ultra light, fire-resistant material is made from bacterial cellulose, and it could have a wide variety of applications in fields such as nanotechnology, electronics, optics, material science and architecture.

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Post tags: aerogel lithium-ion batteries, aerogel oil-spill cleanup, aerogels, biomass, carbon nanotube aerogels, chinese researchers, elastic carbon aerogels, fire-proof materials, green technology, lightweight materials, nanotechnology, ultralight materials

Embedded electronic implants have long been confined to the realm of science fiction, but the development of a new stretchable battery could soon make them a reality. A pair of scientists have developed a new type of lithium-ion battery that can stretch up to three times its original length and can be recharged wirelessly. The new battery, which is being developed by Northwestern University’s Yonggang Huang and the University of Illinois’ John A. Rogers, could signal a major breakthrough for electronics that can be implanted in the human body, like bionic eyes and heart monitors.

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Post tags: batteries, bionic eye, bionic implants, electronic implant, flexible batteries, green technology, John A. Rogers, lithium-ion batteries, Northwestern University, stretchable battery, university of illinois, wearable technology, wirelessly charged batteries, Yonggang Huang

Researchers at the University of Southern California have developed a new lithium-ion battery that recharges in just 10 minutes and holds three times as much energy as its existing counterparts. By using porous nanotubes, researchers made the silicon expand and contract without breaking, which allows lithium-ions to diffuse more quickly and improve the battery performance. The design is currently under a provisional patent and could be on the market in just two to three years.

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Post tags: battery performance, battery research, carbon nanotubes, green technology, lithium-ion batteries, lithium-ion battery patent, nanotechnology, new battery research, silicon nanotubes, University of California research, Viterbi School of Engineering

A lightweight carbon-fiber car that runs on lithium-ion batteries and a portable wind turbine has just traveled 3,000 miles across Australia—and it used only $15 worth of electricity. The car, dubbed the Wind Explorer, was designed by New Jersey-based Evonik Industries to demonstrate the potential of the company’s developments in battery power and lightweight materials.

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Post tags: carbon fiber car, clean energy transportation, energy efficient cars, Evonik Industries New Jersey, fuel efficient vehicles, green technology, green transportation, hybrid cars, lightweight electric vehicles, lightweight materials, lithium ion battery cars, wind energy, Wind Explorer car, wind powered car

Electromagnetic fields are almost impossible to get away from in our modern environment—they come from phones, televisions, radios, power sockets and even from thunderstorms. And while we go about our day, blithely unaware of the currents around us, a student at the University of the Arts in Bremen, Germany, decided that he would attempt to harvest their energy. As a result, Dennis Siegel created a small device that can be placed near the source of a field to charge batteries, creating energy from the wasted energy all around us.

Read the rest of Electromagnetic Harvester Charges Batteries by Using the Currents that Surround Us Every Day

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Post tags: Ambient current energy, ambient energy harvester, battery recharging, Dennis Siegel charger, Dennis Siegel electromagnetic harvester, electromagnetic battery charger, Electromagnetic Harvester, green battery charger, green energy, kinetic energy, University of the Arts Bremen, wasted energy harvester

Most lithium-ion batteries rely on liquid electrolytes to conduct ions between a negatively charged anode and a positively charge cathode – however liquid electrolytes run into safety problems due to their flammability. Now a team of researchers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has developed a safer nano-structured solid electrolyte that is able to conduct ions 1,000 times faster than previous electrolytes of its kind.

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Post tags: adam rondinone, anode, cathode, chengdu liang, electrolyte, journal of the american chemical society, lithium thiophosphate, litium ion battery, nanoscale, nanostructuring, oak ridge national laboratory, ornl

Peugeot just announced plans to introduce a new hybrid car that does away with lithium-ion batteries entirely and instead uses compressed air to provide zero-emissions driving. The new compressed air car that will be powered by a hybrid system that combines a gas motor with compressed air storage.

Read the rest of Peugeot Announces Plans to Release a Hybrid Car That Runs on Compressed Air by 2016

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Post tags: citroen, citroen hybrid car, compressed gas, green car, green transportation, hybrid car, Peugeot, peugeot hybrid car, zero-emissions driving

Toyota Motor Corp and BMW AG are joining forces to develop next-generation car batteries that are expected to be more powerful than the lithium-ion batteries used in most electric vehicles. The new lithium-air batteries will be able to generate a major portion of a car’s power needs from thin air. The two companies have announced that the new fuel-cell vehicle system will be complete by 2020.

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Post tags: "clean energy", BMW, car battery research, carbon emissions, electric car batteries, electric cars, emission-free vehicle, fuel cell vehicles, green car, green transportation, lithium-ion electric car batteries, new car technology, plug-in cars, Toyota, toyota developed battery, toyota electric vehicle

The Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) just launched a new initiative to improve the battery life of electric vehicles. Announced this past week in San Francisco, the $7.4 million Advanced Management and Protection of Energy Storage Devices (AMPED) project will mobilize teams from Utah State University, Washington University, and the Eaton Corporation to extend the range and life of lithium-ion batteries in electric and hybrid cars.

Read the rest of The DOE and NREL Team Up on 3 Projects to Improve Battery Life for Electric Vehicles

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Post tags: advanced management and protection of energy storage devices, Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, amped, ARPA-E, battery, Department of Energy, DOE, eaton corporation, electric vehicle, ev, ford motor company, HEV, ilan gur, lithium ion, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, NREL, San Francisco, university of colorado at boulder, university of colorado at colorado springs, Utah State University, washington university