Electrolyte

Energy

Rubbery electrolyte makes for longer-lasting, safer EV batteries

Rubber might not seem like a great candidate for an electrolyte material in a battery, but Georgia Tech researchers have developed a new rubbery material with a high conductivity, which could make for safer electric vehicle batteries with longer range.

Each can of Sufferfest's FTK Pale Ale contains 96 mg of sodium

Sports

Electrolyte-packed pale ale pulls beer toward the sports drink arena

San Francisco's Sufferfest Beer Company has come up with a new brew it claims boasts the electrolytes of some typical sports drinks, with a juicy superfood acting as the nutritional cherry on top.

KAIST researchers have developed a new hybrid aqueous energy storage device, which boasts high energy and power densities and can be recharged in as little as 20 seconds

Electronics

Hybrid aqueous battery charges up in under 30 seconds

We’re so used to having devices powered by lithium-ion batteries that it’s hard to imagine using anything else, but there are plenty of alternatives. The latest, an aqueous hybrid capacitor, is stable, safe and boasts high energy and power densities, recharging in as little as 20 seconds.

While electric cars are catching on, their relatively short capacities are holding them back from wide acceptance

Energy

Can the Goodenough lab invent the battery to jumpstart the electric car revolution?

He’s the 94-year-old co-inventor of the lithium-ion battery. She’s a physicist with a less-than-conventional idea of building a better battery. Together, can they develop the technology that will finally deliver us from fossil fuels and kickstart the promised EV revolution?

The Salt lamp runs for eight hours on a glass of saltwater

Good Thinking

SALt lamp runs on a glass of water and two teaspoons of salt

While cheap, kerosene lamps are bad for the environment and human health. Intended as an alternative in areas with access to electricity, the SALt (Sustainable Alternative Lighting) lamp burns for eight hours at a time running on only a glass of water and two teaspoons of salt.

Scanning electron microscope images that show how normal electrolyte promotes dendrite growth (a, left), while PNNL’s new electrolyte produces smooth nodules that don’t short-circuit cells (b, right)

Electronics

New electrolyte promises to rid lithium batteries of short-circuiting dendrites

Dendrites – thin conductive filaments that form inside lithium batteries – reduce the life of these cells and are often responsible for them catching fire. Now researchers claim to have produced an electrolyte that completely eliminates them while also boosting carrying capacity and efficiency.

PNNL's high performance zinc-polyiodide flow battery approaches the performance of some lithium-ion batteries (Image: PNNL)

Energy

High-performance flow battery could rival lithium-ions for EVs and grid storage

A new redox flow battery developed at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) more than doubles the amount of energy that this type of cell can pack in a given volume, approaching the numbers of lithium-ion batteries.

A look at the cathode composite under an electron microscope (Image: HIU)

Electronics

New electrolyte to enable cheaper, less toxic magnesium-sulfur-based batteries

New research from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) details the development of an electrolyte that can be used in new magnesium-sulfur battery cells that would be more efficient and inexpensive than the dominate types of batteries today.

A scanning electron micrograph of the nanostructure of the cathode of a Berkeley Li/S cell and a schematic of the layers in the structure (Image: Lawrence Berkeley Lab)

Electronics

New lithium/sulfur battery doubles energy density of lithium-ion

Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley Lab have invented an advanced lithium/sulfur (Li/S) cell that offers a unique combination of energy storage, power, recharge speed, and survivability.