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Energy Vault to build grid-level, gravity-fed battery from a tower of concrete blocks

Michael Irving November 8, 2018

With a focus on storing energy from intermittent renewable sources such as wind and solar, Swiss company Energy Vault has just launched an innovative new system that stores potential energy in a huge tower of concrete blocks, which can be “dropped” by a crane to harvest the kinetic energy.

Energy

Nanotube film drowns out battery-killing lithium tentacles

Nick Lavars November 4, 2018

New research out of Rice University describes yet another promising possible solution to the problem of dendrite formation in lithium-based batteries, working a thin film of carbon nanotubes into the design as as way of drowning them out.

Rice University chemist James Tour, left, graduate student Gladys López-Silva and postdoctoral researcher Rodrigo Salvatierra have ...

Electronics

Can carbon fiber car panels double as energy storage materials?

Nick Lavars October 18, 2018

Carbon fiber as we know it is one of the most impressive materials in our toolkit, but could it also play a role in energy storage? One team of scientists has been exploring the possibilities, raising some interesting possibilities for weight-saving vehicle design.

Can carbon fiber store energy for electric vehicles, as well as serve as structural elements?

Outdoors

Origami-inspired portable lamp harnesses the power of the Sun

Michael Irving October 17, 2018

Practical as camping lights are, most aren’t much to look at by themselves. Solight Design is trying to change that with the Qwnn, an origami-inspired lantern that folds flat, charges via solar power and can also act as a power bank.

Qwnn is a folding portable light that's easy on the eyes

Mobile Technology

Sticky phone powerbank is a prelude to wireless charging on the go

Michael Irving October 8, 2018

Phone power banks can be a lifesaver, but it’s a pain to carry around what basically amounts to a second phone hanging off the bottom. Bezalel has now unveiled a power bank that sticks to the back of your phone and charges it up wirelessly.

Prelude is a wireless charger that sticks to a phone

Electronics

A sprinkle of sodium powder keeps salt-based batteries powering on

Nick Lavars September 27, 2018

While experimental sodium-ion batteries continue to show promise, there are a few kinks to be ironed out before we see them become commonplace. Researchers at Purdue University are claiming to have overcome one important shortcoming by first reducing the sodium to a powder form.

Purdue researcher Jialiang Tang was part of a team that came up with a new sodium ...

Energy

MIT's lithium-carbon dioxide battery generates power and solidifies carbon

Michael Irving September 24, 2018

As the world warms up, we can’t just keep belching all our carbon dioxide out into the atmosphere. Now researchers at MIT have found another way to reuse this unwanted element – build lithium-carbon dioxide batteries.

A scanning electron microscope image of the carbon cathode of MIT's new lithium-carbon dioxide battery. Over ...

Electronics

3D-printed electrodes add a whole new dimension to lithium batteries

Nick Lavars July 31, 2018

So much of focus from researchers in lithium battery circles rests centers on the electrodes. Among them are scientists at Carnegie Mellon University, who have come up with a new way of 3D printing latticed electrodes they say result in an "unprecedented improvement."

New technology developed at Carnegie Mellon University could mean big things for lithium batteries

Energy

New class of materials points to safer, fast-charging lithium-ion batteries

Dario Borghino July 31, 2018

Researchers have found that materials known as niobium tungsten oxides form microscopic structures that let lithium ions flow through them at much greater rates than current technology allows. The finding could be the key to building safe lithium-ion cells that charge in minutes rather than hours.

The research could result in fast-charging lithium-ion batteries that don't overheat

Energy

Laser-blasted graphene boosts capacity of sodium-ion batteries

Michael Irving July 30, 2018

Striking a balance between common materials and efficiency is important for batteries, and regular old salt looks like it could fit the bill – after a few kinks are ironed out. Now, KAUST researchers have developed a way to make disordered graphene that can improve the sodium-ion battery recipe.

A new technique to make disordered graphene could help improve the capacity of sodium-ion batteries