Materials

Deep Insight

Lithium-sulphur batteries

Lithium-sulphur batteries suffer from short lifetimes from the polysulphide shuttle effect. Nick Flaherty reports on attempts to reduce this The most significant advantage that lithium-sulphur (LiS)

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Holding electronics together under high voltages and temperatures

While EVs may have much in common with consumer electronics, the combination of high voltages and powers, and the safety-critical nature of many of their systems, is providing some major headaches for printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) contractors and electronics manufacturing services (EMS) providers – headaches that vehicle OEMs won’t be able to cure with […]

Grid

Efficiency record for EV solar cell

Toshiba has developed a transparent solar cell that can be used to boost the charging of EVs (writes Nick Flaherty). The cell uses copper oxide and has an efficiency of 8.4%, the world’s highest level for such as cell. It would sit on top of a flexible silicon solar cell on the roof or trunk […]

New Products

Henkel launches new fire protection solutions for safer EV batteries

Henkel has launched two new protective coating products – Loctite EA 9400 and Loctite FPC 5060 – that are designed to shield EV battery housings against heat and fire in case of a thermal runaway. Designed for automated mass production, they can both be applied by ‘spray’ or ‘flat stream’ nozzles, and both are compatible […]

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Breakthrough for lithium-sulphur batteries

A cell technology holding 900 Wh/kg – three times the energy density of state-of-the-art lithium-ion battery chemistries – that is safer and cheaper thanks to the use of abundant and easily accessible sulphur for the cathode in place of nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC) is an exciting prospect (writes Peter Donaldson). Batteries that use sulphur […]

Grid

Lithium-air pack beats lithium-ion

Researchers in Japan have developed a lithium-air battery that has a far higher energy density than current lithium-ion batteries (writes Nick Flaherty). Lithium-air batteries have the potential to be the ultimate rechargeable packs, as they are lightweight and have high capacity, with theoretical energy densities of 3150 Wh/kg – several times that of the lithium-ion […]

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Solar power

Solar cell technology is near the point of becoming mainstream in EVs, but some obstacles to their use still need to be overcome. Peter Donaldson reports According to the NASA Earth

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Solid-state batteries

As batteries that use solid instead of liquid electrolytes begin to appear, Nick Flaherty cautions that challenges remain in bringing them to market Solid-state batteries (SSBs) are seen in some

Digest

Ricardo Tees Valley hydrogen bus

With this this hydrogen-electric bus set for its first demonstration run, Rory Jackson talks to its developers about the thinking that went into it When discussing clean energy technologies, debates can arise

Show Report

Battery Show Europe 2021

Peter Donaldson reports with highlights of this show, at which ways of containing thermal runaway were at the fore If there was one theme that shone out from conversations at the Battery Show