The Stanford scientists behind the work say that “carbon nanotubes could be an excellent alternative to the platinum, palladium and other precious-metal catalysts now in use.” Inside a fuel cell, the catalysts are needed to oxidize the hydrogen at the anode.

The study demonstrates that when they shred the other walls of a multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWNT) with the inner walls left intact, the MWNT gained “enhanced” catalytic ability. The electrical conductivity remained good too. When used in metal-air batteries, the potential is for batteries that have 10 times the theoretical energy density of “today’s best lithium-ion technology.”

Further research is needed, of course, but this could be the key to cracking the puzzle of more widespread fuel cell adoption.

[Source]

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Today’s car batteries are massive, yet can only go about 100 miles, and can never come close to gasoline. But a new technology currently being developed under IBM’s “Battery 500 Project”, could result in a battery that would power cars for more than 500 miles on a single charge. They are developing a light-weight, ultra high-density lithium-air battery, or air-breathing battery, which actually breathes air.

In a lithium-air battery, oxygen will react with the soft element lithium to create lithium peroxide and electrical energy. When the battery is recharged, the process is reversed and oxygen is released. Since the oxygen used for the reaction comes from the atmosphere, the battery will be much lighter compared to conventional batteries.

And these batteries have a much higher energy density than lithium-ion ones. Theoretically, the maximum energy density of lithium-air batteries is 12 kWh/kg. That’s around 15 times greater than li-ion, but more importantly comparable to gasoline. If the project is a success, lithium-air might not only replace li-ion, but also gasoline. That won’t happen anytime soon, but it’s certainly possible.

The talks about lithium-air battery actually started way back in 1970, but at the time we did not have the materials required to build one. But li-air is possible today as we have graphene and carbon nanotubes, and also IBM’s famous computer architecture, Blue Gene. IBM has received assistance from Asahi Kasei and Central Glass.

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Your older brother’s arm wrestling grip is killing you?  The Human Grasp Assist device might be able to give you a helping hand (or a helping glove actually). The device, which is also known as Robo-Glove or K-Glove, is the result of the collaboration between GM and NASA and has been developed to help astronauts and autoworkers stay away from stress injuries.

The technology powering the Robo-Glove is based on the grasping technology which was developed for the hands of Robonaut 2, the humanoid robot presently helping out at the International Space Station. The robot features actuators in its fingers, and pressure sensors for sensing touch.

By using the same technology, the engineers from GM and NASA have created the power-assisted glove which is equipped with actuators in the upper sections of each finger, and pressure sensors. When a user who has the gloves on tries to grasp an object, the sensors detect it and the actuators work to pull the fingers into a gripping position. The fingers will be held in the position until further notice.

Since the glove is doing the work to maintain the grip, there won’t be any strain for a user. According to estimations, a person using the Robo-Glove will only have to assert five to ten pounds of gripping force for a task which requires a human worker without the glove to assert 15 to 20 pounds.

They developed a prototype glove back in March 2011 and another version three months later. Both versions weigh in at around two pounds and come with a display. They are powered by lithium-ion battery pack. A third model is being developed and that should come with improved features.

And from the video you will understand that the device will be safe for humans, so there won’t be any problem when you scratch yourself.

The post Robo-Glove Developed By NASA And GM (Video) appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Tired of burning soles on the road for a ride on your skateboard? The ZBoard, claims to be the “world’s first weight-sensing electric skateboard”, and it will save your shoes by letting your weight do the work.

In a world filled with motorized stuff, the ZBoard is really nothing new. You might not have forgotten all the previously introduced motorized skateboards such as the “Board of Awesomeness” which boasts a Kinect-based sensor system, and the remotely controllable Fiik and the Metroboard. What’s new from the ZBoard is the weight-sensor system.

The ZBoard provides up to 400 watts of motor power and features two foot pads that are connected to a micro-controller on the motor. All you have to do is lean forward to put pressure on its front foot pad for taking off. Put you weight on the rear foot pad and the board brakes. If you are headed downhill, the board will automatically reduce your speed and the ZBoard can be stopped even if you are on a hill.

They are offering two versions at the moment, the ZBoard Classic (5 miles of range) and ZBoard Pro (10 miles). The Classic (retails for $599) promises a top speed of 15 mph, while the Pro ($849), which comes equipped with lithium-ion batteries, can go up to 17 mph. And the company says that the tires will do well off-road, but they encourage you to stick to smooth surfaces. Their special pre-order offer, available until March 15, will let you save $100 on both.

But pro skateboarders might argue that motorization will take the fun out of skateboarding. And we don’t think too many stunts are possible on the ZBoard.

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It’s inventions like this that make me so proud to be a Canadian. Maksim Skorobogatiy and his colleagues at the Polytechnic School of Montreal have come up with a way that has flat, flexible batteries built right into garment fabric.

This is quite different from what we already see in some other clothing. Those t-shirts with the flashing LEDs have a battery pack sewn onto them. Vests with solar panels have batteries laid over top (or underneath) them. What these Canadian scientists have been able to create is a flexible fabric where the batteries are actually integrated in the fabric itself.

In order to build their battery, they sandwich a solid polyethylene oxide electrolyte between a lithium iron phosphate cathode and lithium titanate anode. All of these are thermoplastic materials, which can be stretched under mild heating.

It’s fully wearable and fully flexible without using any liquid electrolytes. The trouble is that the artificial leather-like material is not yet waterproof or washable. When it is, they expect to see all sorts of application, from portable debrillating to medical monitoring.  I wonder if that liquipel technology would help?

Photo Top: Tron [ Source: PDF Link ]

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From NiMH cells to Li-Ion batteries and now one step ahead to Lithium Imide technology.

Some years ago, the creation of Li-Ion batteries lead to a considerable technological progress, thanks to which we can now use laptops for hours and telephones for days without charging them.  Still, the Li-Ion batteries had their flaws:  tendency to explode, susceptibility to heat and degradation, some cells losing up to 50% of capacity within 300-500 charges. The battery juice is limited and in most cases, Lithium batteries last less than a couple of years.

The new Lithium Imide technology promises to overcome these limitations and dysfunctions. It has been developed by Leyden Energy and apparently, they could last over three years, stand more than 1000 charge cycles, has a better battery juice and could still work at the level of its capacity even when the battery is near the end of its lifespan.

“We can take any traditional lithium ion that’s out there and extend the number of cycles,” or charges before it degrades, CEO Aakar Patel told Business Insider.

Why? The new technology from Leyden Energy uses a patented salt in the electrolytes, thus it withstands heat better than the Li-Ion batteries and it doesn’t react with moisture. The traditional aluminum has been replaced with conductive graphitic foil in order to reach an increased heat tolerance.

“Even if you use your battery every single day for three years you’re still going to have 80% of your initial capacity remaining”, said Leyden Energy’s Vice President R&D and Engineering, Marc Juzkow.

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In addition to cameras, laptops, and gaming consoles, Sony is also pretty big in the battery manufacturing department. And now they want to latch onto the rising trend in greener transportation by making and selling batteries for electric vehicles.

Sometime in the middle of this decade, Sony will start manufacturing lithium-ion batteries specifically for electric cars and hybrids. Demand for these batteries will surely increase as more people buy hybrids and electric cars, so Sony says it is prepared to build dedicated plants for this purpose too. No details about the batteries have been released, but an early prototype, measuring 257x182mm, was shown at a press conference earlier this week.

Sony will be competing against the likes of fellow Japanese company Panasonic in this realm, along with other battery makers around the world. I just hope that these batteries aren’t like the ones they used to make for our notebooks. A laptop fire is disastrous enough; I don’t want my Tesla or Prius spontaneously combusting on the freeway eitiher.

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A sample of 'Cambridge crude' — a black, gooey substance that can power a highly efficient new type of battery. A prototype of the semi-solid flow battery is seen behind the flask. Photo: Dominick Reuter

But there might be a quicker and easier way to charge your EV, thanks to a team of researchers at MIT who created a liquid-flow battery for EVs that can be recharged in the same amount of time it takes to fill up a gas tank. The battery involves a black and gooey electrolyte which holds suspended positive and negative electrodes that provide the EV with juice. When all the energy has been zapped out of the electrolyte, you can simply remove a container holding the goo from the battery and recharge it. Then you can put it back in the battery and you’re ready to go. The team at MIT envisions this happening as quickly and easily as it takes to pump gas.

By combining the traditional, stationary electrodes of a lithium-ion battery with the suspension idea of a liquid flow battery, the team makes it possible to refuel an EV without having to recharge the battery within its own structure. A refillable liquid-flow battery would be less expensive than traditional lithium ion batteries, and could help bring down the cost of electric vehicles too.

Liquid flow batteries are not new, but earlier research could not find a material that had high enough energy density to make the batteries plausible. The MIT team managed to find a material that surpassed the energy density of prior liquid flow batteries and enabled the structure to be small enough for use in EVs. Though it could take a few years before this technology is implemented, it could allow EV charging to be as simple as stopping at an public charging station and refueling in the time that it takes to grab a few snacks and pay.

Better Place, a company based in Israel, has the same vision. They are working on implementing networks of convenient charging stations and have begun installing 10 charge spots across Oahu, Hawaii in April 2011. One of their prototypes includes battery switch stations that switch new batteries for depleted ones, cool and charge the batteries in inventory, and ensure that each EV that comes to the station gets a fully-charged battery. Convenient access to EV charging stations is crucial for the technology to take off, and it seems like we’re getting closer every year. EVs will have to compete with hydrogen fuel technology, which is also seeing a rise in charging station prototypes.

The post New Liquid-Flow Battery Could Make Charging EVs as Quick as Pumping Gas appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

It’s pretty frustrating when a laptop loses the ability to fully charge and barely provides you with a couple hours of battery life. For most laptops, the battery will start losing its ability to fully charge after about a year and a half. Dell estimates noticeable reduction in run time in their laptops will be observed after 18 to 24 months. According to Leyden Energy, their batteries have one of the highest energy densities and run times for lithium-ion laptop batteries on the market, with 440 watt hours per liter and over 1,000 cycles.

Standard lithium-ion batteries use a salt-based solvent within the electrolyte that starts degrading at a temperature of between 70 to 80 C, while Leyden’s salt-based solvent doesn’t degrade until about 300 C. Thus, since the batteries can operate at higher temperatures than traditional batteries, they are able to provide a full charge for a longer amount of time.

Boston Power released a three-year lasting lithium-ion battery in 2008. The company has a partnership with ASUS, and the ASUS B Series notebooks are powered by Boston Power’s batteries. Currently Leyden is only able to offer laptop replacement batteries, so until they strike a deal with a major laptop manufacturer and get the battery right in the laptop, they might have a hard time competing with Boston Power. Right now Leyden Energy is working with Brammo to supply the battery for its electric motorcycle the Empulse. The company has also received $2.96 million in grants from the California Energy Commission to produce ten electric vehicle (EV) batteries per month. Leyden Energy hasn’t yet determined the exact price of the battery, but the three-year battery will be less than double the cost of a one-year battery.

The post Leyden Energy Launches Three-year Lithium Ion Batteries appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Before electric cars can really become a completely viable alternative to the regular gas-powered vehicles on the road, they need to have a way to charge up more quickly. The new 3D film batteries being developed by University of Illinois could be the answer.

Paul Braun is a professor of materials science and engineering and he has developed a technique that gives you the most useful characteristics of capacitors and batteries. On the one hand, capacitors can charge and release energy very quickly, but they can’t hold much. On the other hand, batteries can hold a lot more energy, but it takes them much longer to charge.

The new technique being developed involves a thin film that is then coated with nanoscale spheres. These spheres arrange themselves in a lattice, and then the scientists coat them with metal. The spheres are melted away, the metal framework is electropolished to enlarge the pores, and then they coat it with active material like lithium-ion or NiMH.

The net result? A compact battery that charges quickly, but also holds a lot of juice. They’re saying that it can charge and discharge between 10 and 100 times faster than conventional batteries, meaning that you might be able to “fill up” your electric car in the same few minutes it would take to fill a petrol tank.

Now imagine if these electric recharging stations were more readily available. Those poor stranded Nissan Leaf owners wouldn’t be, well, stranded.

[GizMag via U Illinois]

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