—Hydrogel battery could power bioimplants “Small lithium-ion battery is as soft as human tissue” A battery built entirely from hydrogels is as soft as human tissue and could offer a biocompatible power source for medical implants, its inventors say (Adv. Mater. 2021, DOI: 10.1002/adma.202105120). Researchers have developed many kinds of flexiblebatteries for bioelectronic devices such as wearable sensors. But the people behind the all-hydrogel battery, led by Ye Zhang at Nanjing University, say that thin-film batteries often have hard electrodes and that even stretchable batteries are more rigid than flesh. That can cause problems in some devices, including strain sensors fitted to the surface of a heart.
by Mark Peplow, special to C&EN | November 26, 2021
—Northvolt acquires US battery start-up Cuberg “ ” The Swedish electric vehicle battery specialist Northvolt has purchased Cuberg, a US battery start-up, for an undisclosed sum. Cuberg spun out of Stanford University in 2015 with technology based on a lithium metal anode and a novel liquid electrolyte. Northvolt says Cuberg’s batteries offer 70% more capacity than conventional lithium-ion cell batteries and can be assembled on existing lithium-ion cell lines. Building on the acquisition, Northvolt intends to establish a technology center in Silicon Valley for materials R&D. /energy/energy-storage-/Northvolt-acquires-US-battery-startCuberg/99/i9 20210312 Concentrates 99 9 /magazine/99/09909.html Northvolt acquires US battery start-up Cuberg Batteries, lithium-ion, electrolyte con bus Alexander H. Tullo energy energy-storage- A Cuberg battery cell,Cuberg,A photo of lithium-ion batteries cells.,Energy storage batteries , Northvolt acquires US battery start-up Cuberg Chemical & Engineering News Northvolt acquires US battery start-up Cuberg Northvolt acquires US battery start-up Cuberg Northvolt acquires US battery start-up Cuberg
by Alexander H. Tullo | March 12, 2021
—Partnership Targets Sodium-Ion Batteries “” Faradion, an English sodium-ion battery start-up, has formed a partnership with AGM Batteries, a Scottish lithium-ion battery maker. The firms intend to engineer complete sodium-ion battery cells for use in commercial batteries. AGM runs a 4,000-m2 battery facility in Caithness, Scotland. Sodium-ion batteries could be safer and cost around 30% less than their lithium-ion equivalent, Faradion says. /articles/94/i7/Partnership-Targets-Sodium-Ion-Batteries.html 20160215 Concentrates 94 7 /magazine/94/09407.html Partnership Targets Sodium-Ion Batteries sodium-ion, lithium-ion, batteries, cell con bus Alex Scott business Partnership Targets Sodium-Ion Batteries Chemical & Engineering News Partnership Targets Sodium-Ion Batteries Partnership Targets Sodium-Ion Batteries
by Alex Scott | February 15, 2016
—Lithium-Air Batteries With More Oomph “Electrochemistry: Modifying the electrode and electrolyte leads to a battery that cycles by forming and decomposing lithium hydroxide, not lithium peroxide” By overhauling the guts of a lithium-air battery, researchers in England have come up with a higher performance design that may help move the battery from research labs to consumer products (Science 2015, DOI: 10.1126/science.aac7730). Lithium-air batteries, which draw oxygen from the air to drive battery chemistry, pack roughly 10 times as much energy per weight as lithium-ion batteries. But they operate sluggishly and fail quickly as a result of the electrochemistry products, mainly Li2O2, that form during battery use. Li2O2 tends to form crystals about 2 μm in diameter that clog standard porous carbon electrodes, which reduces charge capacity.
by Mitch Jacoby | November 02, 2015
Flow batteries may be better suited than conventional batteries for storing and supplying electricity on a grid scale because the compounds undergoing electrochemical reactions are housed in storage tanks outside of the electrochemical cell. That separation enables flow-battery components to be optimized independently to suit the application.
by Mitch Jacoby | September 28, 2015
—Lithium-Air Battery Gets A Safety Boost “Replacing the lithium metal anode with a lithiated silicon-carbon composite helps relieve battery safety problems” The safety of lithium-air batteries can be improved by replacing the commonly used metallic lithium anode with one made from a lithiated silicon-carbon composite, according to an international research team (Nano Lett., DOI: 10.1021/nl303087j). The relatively large amount of energy released by lithium oxidation and the potential for packaging that energy in small, lightweight cells that are 10 times more powerful than lithium-ion batteries have made lithium-air batteries a hot topic of research for electric vehicles. However, large-scale development of these batteries has been hampered, in part because the standard reactive lithium-metal anode is prone to forming hazardous dendrites that grow during charge cycling.
by Mitch Jacoby | November 12, 2012
—This Heat-Responsive Coating Could Keep Lithium-Ion Batteries From Catching Fire “Materials: When overheated, new composite acts quickly to block current flow and shut down battery” When coated onto a lithium-ion battery electrode, a new composite material protects the battery from bursting into flames if it is overcharged or develops an electrical short.
by Mitch Jacoby | January 14, 2016