Batteries

Japanese company PowerX is moving ahead with its strange plan to build a "mobile power station" in the form of a 140-meter (460-ft) electric "battery tanker," which will carry 241 megawatt-hours of renewable energy across the sea over short distances.

Waiting for an EV's battery to charge can seriously eat into your day. One alternative solution with potential is to swap out the run-down battery pack for a fresh one, and Ample has just revealed that it's managed to do so in just five minutes.

In huge news for zero-emissions aviation, Chinese company CATL is set to go to mass production on a "condensed battery" it says can squeeze in more than twice as much energy as a Tesla Model Y battery, by weight – while being safe enough to fly with.

Back in 2015, Gogoro proposed setting up a network of battery-swapping stations for riders of its electric smartscooter. Now the company operates thousands of them, and has partnered with Enel X to have the network serve as virtual power plants.

Although it's generally not a good idea to swallow batteries, ingestible medical electronic devices often have batteries in them. A new type of battery could make such devices safer to use, as it's made entirely of edible ingredients.

Sila announced this month that its Titan Silicon nano-composite silicon anode is now available. The anode will feature in the electric Mercedes-Benz G-Class and promises range increases up to 20% and dramatic charging time decreases.

That plate of smashed crab legs about to be cleared from the dining table and tossed in the trash might actually be the future of rechargeable batteries. A new discovery for its use in sodium-ion technology has researchers certainly believing so.

Smart energy tech developer SolarEdge is inviting thousands of home battery owners to join Britain's first Battery Virtual Power Plant, where stored energy will be used to help stabilize the grid during peak demand events.

For some time now, a nanomaterial known as MXene has been touted as a faster-charging alternative to the lithium used in batteries. It could soon be an even more viable choice, as scientists have devised a method of making it last much longer.

Australian mining company Fortescue has taken delivery of a 1.4-MWh prototype battery that's heading for a 240-tonne electric mining haul truck developed in partnership with Liebherr, and will begin testing later in the year.

One of the most exciting companies in grid-level renewable energy storage is Form Energy, whose innovative iron-air technology promises to outperform lithium "big battery" projects at 10% of the cost. It's preparing to scale up with its first factory.

The excellent energy density of lithium metal could enable batteries to power smartphones for days, and by designing a new electrolyte that can be controlled via magnetic fields, scientists have now edged this technology a little closer to reality.