Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
Toggle light / dark theme

Blog

Category: energy – Page 173

“Our batteries are designed to suit the needs of stationary power applications where safety, lifetime, levelized costs, and environmental footprints are key decision drivers,” the company said in a statement. “PolyJoule’s conductive polymer cells span the performance curve between traditional lead-acid batteries and modern lithium-ion cells, while enhancing service life and reducing balance of plant costs, due to their no-HVAC thermal management design.”

According to the manufacturer, the battery cells were tested to perform for 12,000 cycles at 100% depth of discharge. The device is based on a standard, two-electrode electrochemical cell containing the conductive polymers, a carbon-graphene hybrid, and a non-flammable liquid electrolyte. Alternating anodes and cathodes are interwoven and then connected in parallel to form a cell.

Read more | >

A new type of battery made from electrically conductive polymers—basically plastic—could help make energy storage on the grid cheaper and more durable, enabling a greater use of renewable power.

The batteries, made by Boston-based startup PolyJoule, could offer a less expensive and longer-lasting alternative to lithium-ion batteries for storing electricity from intermittent sources like wind and solar.

Read more | >

A simple colour change could indicate the presence of potentially hazardous hydrogen gas thanks to a new sensor developed by researchers in Germany. The micron-scale device, which uses so-called “supraparticles” that turn from purple to pink in the presence of hydrogen, could help prevent explosions by making it easier to detect and localize leaks at fuel stations, generators and pipelines.

Read more | >

“GM and our suppliers are building an EV ecosystem that is focused on sourcing critical raw materials in a secure sustainable manner. Importantly, given the critical role of EVs in reducing the carbon footprint of the transportation sector, this agreement is aligned with our approach to responsible sourcing and supply chain management.”

Jeff Morrison, GM vice president, Global Purchasing and Supply Chain

GM and Glencore did not disclose the duration of the sourcing agreement or its value. Cobalt is a rare metal that makes up only 0.001% of the earth’s crust. Known for its heat-resistant properties, it is added to lithium-ion battery cathodes to improve energy density and battery longevity.

Read more | >

Boston-based solar company ClearPath Energy and Maitland, Florida-based Castillo Engineering, a solar engineering firm, are building six community bifacial solar farms in New York State.

UnderstandSolar is a free service that links you to top-rated solar installers in your region for personalized solar estimates. Tesla now offers price matching, so it’s important to shop for the best quotes. Click here to learn more and get your quotes. — *ad.

Ranging from 4.5 megawatts (MW) to 7.5 MW in size, the six solar farms are currently in late stages of construction in central New York State, and some are already mechanically completed. All six projects are scheduled to be operational in the second quarter of 2022.

Read more | >

“Re-Architecting” Low Energy Wireless & IoT — Dr. David Su, Ph.D. 0, CEO & Co-Founder, Atmosic

Dr. David Su, Ph.D. (https://atmosic.com/company/leadership/) is CEO and Co-Founder of Atmosic, a fascinating company that is “re-architecting” wireless connectivity solutions from the ground up to radically reduce Internet of Things (IoT) device dependence on batteries, aiming to make batteries last forever and the Internet of Things battery free – thus breaking the power barrier to widespread IoT adoption.

Dr. Su brings to Atmosic over 30 years of engineering expertise with an extensive wireless background, as his past teams’ radio designs have brought billions of successful devices to market. He was on the early engineering team at Atheros, as VP Analog/RF Engineering, and VP Engineering with Qualcomm following the 2011 acquisition of Atheros. He was also at HP for several years.

Dr. Su earned a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) and Master of Engineering (MEng) in Electrical Engineering, from University of Tennessee, a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University, and has been a Consulting Professor of Electrical Engineering at Stanford. He is an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Fellow.

Read more | >

Oil and gas wells no longer in use could be the answer.

NREL researchers Chad Augustine (left) and David Young, along with former colleague Henry Johnston, have been examining the idea of using depleted oil and gas wells as a reservoir for the storage of natural gas. The gas can then be released, as needed, to spin a turbine and generate electricity. Photo by Werner Slocum, NREL.

Chad Augustine and his colleagues at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) see opportunity where others might simply see a hole in the ground.

“It can’t just be any hole in the ground,” explained Augustine, a researcher with NREL’s geothermal research group.

Read more | >