By Nick Chambers •
October 6, 2009
Researchers have found a way to create a battery out of Nickel and Lithium that can store more than 3.5 times the energy of lithium-ion batteries and are much safer to boot.
Lithium-ion batteries are great and all—having heralded in a new age of portable electronics and allowed for the possibility of mass-market electric cars—but they have a few major drawbacks. For instance, they have a propensity to catch fire and explode and, although they have a much better energy storage capacity than say lead-acid or nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries, they still weigh too much to pack more than a couple hundred miles of range into a passenger car.
By Andrew Williams •
July 28, 2009
A team of Japanese scientists have developed a new type of lithium-air battery cell with an ultra-large capacity, and say that it holds great potential for the next-generation of electric cars.
Researchers at the country’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) predict that at a filling station, the driver of a vehicle equipped with the new battery could make use of a revolutionary new cassette refill system, and then continue driving without waiting for batteries to be recharged.
By Ariel Schwartz •
February 19, 2009
The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) recently developed a surprisingly attractive solid-oxide fuel cell (SOFC). The sugar cube-sized SOFC, which is made up of 25 needle-like modules measuring 0.8 mm, packs a serious punch due to a high ratio of electrode area to volume. And since small size means a small heat capacity, the module also has a low operating temperature.
