Electric car maker Tesla wants a cheaper, faster way to produce the lithium ion batteries that power its cars, and the company has settled on a gargantuan solution: the so-called "gigafactory" that, if all goes as planned, will crank out more lithium ion batteries than the entire world produced in 2013.
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Laptops are our indispensable lifeline to the majesty that is the Internet. We use them to work and play from anywhere in the world. But if you’re like most people, you probably keep yours plugged in when you’re at work …
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Supercapacitors are often hailed as the holy grail of power supplies, but a group of researchers at the University of Illinois have developed a lithium-ion microbattery that leaves that prized solution in the dust, recharging 1,000 times faster than competing tech. Previous work done by Professor William P. King, who led the current effort, resulted in a fast-charging cathode with a 3D microstructure, and now the team has achieved a breakthrough by pairing it with an anode devised in a similar fashion.
The resulting battery is said to be the most powerful in the world, avoiding the usual trade-off between longevity and power while having a footprint of just a few millimeters. By altering its composition, scientists can even optimize the contraption for more juice or increased life. It’s expected that the technology could make devices 30 times smaller and help broadcast radio signals up to 30 times farther, but it’ll still be a while before it winds up in a super-slim phone within your pocket. For now, the researchers have their sights set on integrating the tech with other electronic components and investigating low-cost manufacturing.
Via: Eureka Alert
Baysun released an external lithium-ion rechargeable battery “Power Station ARCA DX300″ (capacity: 300Wh) that allows you to use a laptop all day without charging.
When “ARCA DX300″ is fully charged, you can run your laptop for 8-12 hours straight. LED light on it tells you how much battery power is left. There are 2 output terminals, you can use it for 2 devices at the same time.
There are 3 models that have 3 different output voltage (12V, 16V, 19V), so it is possible to choose the one that fits your device. Connection cable must be bought separately.
“ARCA DX150″ (capacity: 150Wh) is also out, which allows a laptop to run for 4-5 hours.
Price: open price
Battery capacity: 300Wh
Type of battery: Lithium-ion battery
Size: 370 × 248 × 37mm
Weight: 3.3kg
Recharge time: 10 hours
We know you’ve got questions, and if you’re brave enough to ask the world for answers, then here’s the outlet to do so. This week’s Ask Engadget inquiry is from Bernard, who wants an answer to the age-old question of ensuring you get the most out of your batteries. If you’re looking to ask one of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.
“It’s said that you should always leave brand-new electronics plugged in for ‘a few hours’ after being fully charged, but how do you decide that period of time? Is there a calculation depending on the capacity of the battery, or what? Help me, please!”
Nowadays, do you even need to? While memory effect was an issue on NiCad batteries, Lithium Ion units don’t suffer from the same issue. It could also be tied to the belief that most chargers only re-juice batteries up to 95 percent, but we can’t find any authoritative proof on the matter. Let’s turn it over to the electrical engineers and battery experts who read Engadget on a regular basis so we can sort this out, once and for all!
Lighter, less expensive and more energy dense than other secondary battery technologies, lithium-ion has become the dominant form of rechargeable battery today. It powers everything from mobile phones and laptops to cars and commercial jets. But there is one little problem—these batteries don’t just short circuit, they explode into flames. Here’s what goes on inside a lithium cell before it goes boom. More »
Amidst the ongoing brouhaha over rival Boeing‘s Dreamliner-grounding battery troubles, Airbus has decided not to use lithium-ion batteries in its newest aircraft, the A350, according to industry officials cited by the Wall Street Journal. The European plane maker is said to be making the change in an effort to stick to its plan of pressing the jet into commercial service by the middle of next year. While the craft’s early test flights this summer will still make use of four lithium-ion batteries for on-ground electrical power and as backup in the air as originally intended, it will be delivered to airlines with conventional nickel-cadmium batteries instead. Safety considerations are undoubtedly part of the picture, but since the A350 is already behind schedule by a couple of years, its manufacturer can’t afford any further delays — anticipated in case regulators find fault with the use of lithium-ion packs in flights. As Boeing struggles to find a fix and get the 787 back into the air, it seems Airbus has taken the easy way out.
[Image credit: Airbus S.A.S / H. Goussé]
Filed under: Transportation
Source: Wall Street Journal
Airbus is making plans to drop lithium-ion batteries from its upcoming A350 planes. The Wall Street journal reports that Airbus is taking the decision so that deliveries of the A350 are not delayed due to regulations over the lithium-ion batteries.
Lithium-ion batteries have previously caused Boeing’s Dreamliner planes to be grounded after two instances of burning aboard the planes. Questions have also been raised regarding safety standards of batteries especially sincethe cause of the incidents has not been found. Last month a fire broke out in a Dreamliner, and although the location of the fire has been found, its cause is still unknown. (more…)
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Google Self-Driving Car Could See Competition From Oxford University, Moveo Electric Scooter Is Foldable, No Parking Spot Required,
There’s no shortage of attempts to build a better battery, usually with a few caveats. USC may have ticked all the right checkboxes with its latest discovery, however. Its use of porous, flexible silicon nanowires for the anodes in a lithium-ion battery delivers the high capacity, fast recharging and low costs that come with silicon, but without the fragility of earlier attempts relying on simpler silicon plates. In practice, the battery could deliver the best of all worlds. Triple the capacity of today’s batteries? Full recharges in 10 minutes? More than 2,000 charging cycles? Check. It all sounds a bit fantastical, but USC does see real-world use on the horizon. Researchers estimate that there should be products with silicon-equipped lithium-ion packs inside of two to three years, which isn’t long to wait if the invention saves us from constantly hunting for the nearest wall outlet.
Filed under: Science
Via: Gizmodo
Source: USC
The Wall Street Journal has gotten word that Boeing is preparing tweaks to its 787’s lithium-ion batteries that could minimize the risk of fire and let its Dreamliners take to the skies before a long-term solution is sussed out. Citing industry and government officials, the WSJ says the modifications will see a larger separation between battery cells in an effort to lessen the risk of heat and fire spreading. Other measures may include keeping cells more firmly in place to prevent them from moving about and interfering with electronics, incorporating heat sensors and a beefed-up battery cover that could contain flames and chemicals. Changes to the aircraft aren’t nailed down across the board just yet, and they still need approval by Japanese and American regulators before they can be applied. According to one of the WSJ’s sources, a best-case scenario could see Dreamliners put back on passenger flight duty in March.
[Image credit: Martin Deutsch, Flickr]
Filed under: Transportation
Source: Wall Street Journal
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