Battery

As the number of electronic devices grows, we have to get creative with our energy sources. Cambridge researchers have now demonstrated how an algae energy harvester can use sunlight to power a microprocessor for over a year without any intervention.

By rethinking a key battery component, scientists in China have come up with what's described as "extremely fast charging" technology that sees a lithium-ion battery hit 60 percent capacity in under six minutes.

Now that we know this exists, we can't believe it's not a feature on all camera batteries. Chinese company Nitecore is selling replacement batteries for late-model Sony Alpha cameras with USB-C charging built in, so no external charger is required.

For riders who prefer to add motor assist to a regular bike when it's needed and do without when it's not, ebike conversion kits like the one from Swytch can be a handy solution. Now the design has been updated to include a pocket-friendly battery.

A team at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has demonstrated a type of "hibernating" battery that can preserve its energy for months at a time and release it on demand when heated up, ticking some important boxes for renewable energy storage.

Scientists at Japan's Tokyo Metropolitan University have taken aim at a common problem plaguing next-generation lithium metal batteries, finding a promising solution in a salty liquid that reduces problematic resistance between key components.

A new symmetrical design for flow batteries takes us a step closer to unlocking their potential as a solution for grid-scale energy storage, and leans on more environmentally-friendly materials while it's at it.

In an exciting example of what so-called structural batteries could look like, scientists have developed a "power suit" for electric vehicles that could not only extend their range, but give them a handy boost in acceleration at the same time.

Michigan-based startup Our Next Energy (ONE) is on a mission to provide cheap batteries that propel electric vehicles much farther on each charge, and the last few months have seen it make some serious waves in the space.

A research group at Australia's Monash University has developed a novel layer component that shapes as a promising material for lithium-sulfur batteries moving forward, offering these devices both a high capacity and long lifetime.

The ongoing miniaturization of electronics calls for an ongoing reimagining of the devices that power them, and a new example from scientists at the Chemnitz University of Technology has taken this technology into tiny new territory.

Engineers at Drexel University have made a breakthrough they say takes high-capacity lithium-sulfur batteries closer to commercial use, by leveraging a rare chemical phase of sulfur to prevent damaging chemical reactions.