The Kynix Blog - Battery

SummaryWe know that empty batteries are easy to recognize.However,it is much more complicated to know the charge status between full and empty.A complete new approach with ultrasound pluses offers a precise and simple method. Batteries are used in many "mobile" technologies,and that is why it is the snag in "mobile" technologies. Like smartphones,drones,or electric cars-in many cases he time between battery charges is much too short for many people. This is why it is important to determine the exact state of charge. But this is more complicated than you would imagine. Currently, battery management systems (BMS) carry out the necessary measurements. They calculate the state of charge for each cell based on the parameters current and voltage.  However, since the calculations are partly based on standard values, they reflect the current state only approximately. In particular, this is very inaccurate in case of frequent partial charges. The battery management systems also consume some of the energy that was actually to be used for the next song or mile. About the aboving picture:Sensors with 1 cm and 2 cm diameter to measure the state of charge of the battery Battery Management with UltrasoudIn the future this will be more reliable, more energy saving and cheaper with sensor systems that are being developed in the SoCUS project at the Fraunhofer ISC. They measure the density of the negative anode with the help of ultrasound pulses. This changes as the state of charge of the cell changes.The method has several advantages: there is a direct linear connection between the state of charge and the measurement signal. This makes the evaluation simpler and more precise than with the technologies currently in use.The new battery sensors can be easily integrated into existing systems.One evaluation unit can monitor several battery cells simultaneously and measures the state of charge only during charging and discharging. The fact that this system does not check the charge continuously saves energy and, consequently, costs.Since the ultrasound signal correlates directly with the mechanical properties of the cell, all aging processes are taken into account better. This allows more accurate statements to be made about the current remaining capacity and, hence, the performance.  About the above picture: Principle of the state-of-charge estimation by ultrasonic pulsed excitations: A RCN-pulse transmitted through the cell gives rise to two wave packets (wave I and II), where the slower (wave II) ones' amplitude shows a linear relationship on the state-of-charge. For optimized signal strength of-the-shelf piezo transducers are attached centered on opposite sides of commercial pouch-type cells. Battery Management with All TypesThe new measuring method is suitable for almost all types of battery. However, to date only lithium ion batteries have been tested. In particular, electric vehicles should benefit from reliable recording of the battery charge status. After all, the distance covered between charges is the key factor for further development. But reliable monitoring of the state of charge is also important for drones that monitor industrial plants and wind parks or that manage agricultural land. The ultrasound method could be especially profitable for stationary storage systems with a large number of connected battery cells. A sensor that works only when required and records the state of charge of several cells simultaneously can save energy and also costs. In this application, flame retardant battery types are often used where the state of charge cannot be determined accurately with current methods. The new method could extend existing measurement methods of battery management systems in the future, especially also in electric mobility with a reliable, energy-saving, inexpensive variant. 

SummaryIron-air batteries promise a considerably higher energy density than present-day lithium-ion batteries. In addition, their main constituent -- iron -- is an abundant and therefore cheap material. Scientists from Forschungszentrum Jülich are among the driving forces in the renewed research into this concept, which was discovered in the 1970s. Together with American Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), they successfully observed with nanometre precision how deposits form at the iron electrode during operation. A deeper understanding of the charging and discharging reactions is viewed as the key for the further development of this type of battery rechargeable to market maturity. The results were published in the journal Nano Energy--Charging and discharging reactions during operation shown with nanometer precision.  BodyFor reasons including insurmoutable technical difficulties,research into metal-air batteries was abandoned in the 1980s for a long time.The past few years, however, have seen a rapid increase in research interest. Iron-air batteries draw their energy from a reaction of iron with oxygen. In this process, the iron oxidizes almost exactly as it would during the rusting process. The oxygen required for the reaction can be drawn from the surrounding air so that it does not need to be stored in the battery. These material savings are the reason for the high energy densities achieved by metal-air batteries. Iron-air batteries are predicted to have theoretical energy densities of more than 1,200 Wh/kg. By comparison, present-day lithium-ion batteries come in at about 600 Wh/kg, and even less (350 Wh/kg) if the weight of the cell casing is taken into account. Lithium-air batteries, which are technically considerably more difficult and complicated to realize, can have energy densities of up to 11,400 Wh/kg. When it comes to volumetric energy density, iron-air batteries perform even better: at 9,700 Wh/l, it is almost five times as high as that of today's lithium-ion batteries (2,000 Wh/l). Even lithium-air batteries have "only" 6,000 Wh/l. Iron-air batteries are thus particularly interesting for a multitude of mobile applications in which space requirements play a large role. "We consciously concentrate on research into battery types made of materials that are abundant in the Earth's crust and produced in large quantities," explains institute head Prof. Rüdiger-A. Eichel. "Supply shortages are thus not to be expected. The concept is also associated with a cost advantage, which can be directly applied to the battery, particularly for large-scale applications such as stationary devices for the stabilization of the electricity grid or electromobility." What Cause These Difficulties?The insights obtained by the Jülich researchers create a new basis for improving the properties of the battery in a targeted manner. Using in situ electrochemical atomic force microscopes at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, they were able to observe how deposits of iron hydroxide particles (Fe(OH)2) form at the iron electrode under conditions similar to those prevalent during charging and discharging. "The high pH of 13.7 alone represents a borderline condition for the instrument," explains Henning Weinrich from Jülich's Institute of Energy and Climate Research (IEK-9). "We were the first at Oak Ridge to successfully conduct such an experiment under realistic conditions," says Weinrich, who stayed in the USA for three months especially for the measurements. Capacity IncreasingWe should notice that deposits do not decrease the power of the battery.On the contrary, since the nanoporous layer increases the active surface area of the electrode, it contributes to a small increase in capacity after each charging and discharging cycle. Thanks to the investigations, the researchers have for the first time obtained a complete picture of this layer growth. "It was previously assumed that the deposition is reversed during charging. But this is obviously not the case," explains Dr. Hermann Tempel from Jülich's Institute of Energy and Climate Research (IEK-9). Furthermore, a direct link was verified for the first time between the layer formation at the electrode surface and the electrochemical reactions. There is, however, still a long way to go until market maturity. Although isolated electrodes made of iron can be operated without major power losses for several thousand cycles in laboratory experiments, complete iron-air batteries, which use an air electrode as the opposite pole, have only lasted 20 to 30 cycles so far. 

SummaryThe invention of electril trucks has bring a lot of benefit for human being. An electric truck is a truck powered by electricity. For information on trucks using a combination of internal combustion engines and electric propulsion, see Hybrid electric truck. Now they are having a moment in the spotlight,however,they still have a long haul cause the costs and other limitations.  Tesla Inc. plans to unveil a semi tractor-trailer this week, its first foray into trucking after more than a decade of making cars and SUVs. German automaker Daimler AG showed off its own electric semi last month and says it could be on sale in a few years. Truck rental company Ryder just added 125 all-electric vans made by California startup Chanje to its fleet. "It's kind of like the checkered flag is being waved," said Glen Kedzie, energy and environmental counsel with the American Trucking Associations. "We've seen different fuels come and go, and electric has gotten to the front of the line." According to the data of Navigant Research, global sales of pure electric trucks are expected to grow exponentially from 4,100 in 2016 to 70,600 in 2026 as battery costs fall and more options enter the market.elivery companies, mail services and utilities will be among the biggest purchasers, and most of the growth will come from Europe, China and the U.S. Most electric trucks on the road will be medium-duty vehicles like delivery vans or garbage trucks. They're quiet and emission-free, and they can be plugged in and charged at the end of a shift. They're ideal for predictable urban routes of 100 miles or less; a longer range than that requires more batteries, which are heavy and expensive. Battery Costs IssueHowever,it's cost that cause a big issue. A medium-duty electric truck costs about $70,000 more than equivalent diesel trucks, according to the consulting firm Deloitte. Buyers considering electrics have to weigh what they can save on fuel and maintenance costs, since electrics have fewer parts.Heavy-duty trucks like electric semis have even further to go before they can be competitive with diesels. Some of those trucks are used for shorter routes, but to achieve a longer range of 300 miles, they require more batteries.  Expensive EletrificationDeloitte estimates electrification adds around $150,000 to the cost of a heavy-duty vehicle, or more than double the cost of some diesel tractor-trailers. Electric semi trucks will have the added problem of long charging times and little highway charging infrastructure."I see it being relevant but not ready for prime time," Chanje CEO Bryan Hansel said of long-haul electric trucks. He thinks it will be five years or more before the battery technology and infrastructure can support cross-country electric trucking. "It's a big prize, but the physics haven't caught up yet," he said. Different ThinkingOther analysts,however,believe that this situation will change. Battery costs are expected to fall significantly over the next decade as technology improves. Deloitte expects battery costs for trucks to fall from $260 per kilowatt-hour in 2016 to $122 in 2026. That would cut the cost of a 300 kWh battery pack—like the one in Daimler's prototype semi —from $78,000 to $36,600. At the same time,regulations will drive interest in electric trucks. In the U.S., trucks must meet stricter emissions standards through 2027 under rules that went into effect last year. China is also tightening emissions standards. And several major cities, including Paris and Mexico City, have called for a ban on diesels by 2025 to improve air quality. Incentives are also enticing companies to add electric trucks to their fleets. Companies that buy or lease vans from Chanje are eligible for an $80,000 voucher per vehicle from the state of California, for example. France pays out 10,000 euros ($11,669) to buyers who replace diesel vehicles with electric ones.  Companies' GoalsCompanies are also experimenting with electrics—and other alternatives, like natural gas—because they want to meet their own sustainability goals and figure out the optimal mix for their fleets. United Parcel Service, for example, has 300 electric trucks in its global fleet of 100,000 vehicles, mostly in the U.S. and Europe, said Scott Phillippi, UPS's Senior Director of Maintenance and Engineering for international operations. Many of UPS's delivery routes require trucks to travel less than 100 miles per day, a range easily met by an electric truck, Phillippi said. He said electric trucks also help the company take advantage of incentives. UPS has set a goal of having 25 percent of its fleet be made up of alternative fuel vehicles by 2020, in part to encourage manufacturers to keep building and improving such trucks. "The proof of concept time is over," he said. "Everybody is starting to agree it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when." 

Do you want a photo book incorportating the sound of the sea and  birdsong,a novel with spoken dialog? Most Children may say yes.But how to invent such a product out? Yeah,this is all made possible by loudspeaker paper and electronic concealed in the cover. Such a T-book can currently be heard at the Frankfurt Book Fair ( here the T stands for the German word Ton,means sound ). Most fairs even book fairs are already loud enough. However,the future noise level looks like to keep increasing if the development on the display at the CPI booth of the Frankfurt(hall 4.0, booth F73) is successful. Not only in the halls of trade fairs, but also in living rooms, public transport and – God forbid – supermarkets, drugstores, and the like could all be equally affected.  Tchnicians at TU Chemnitz have now introduced the latest generation of their “T-books”after years of research and experimentation. The “T” here has nothing to do with Telecom, but stands for Ton (sound). In other words, the pages of the book are simultaneously loudspeakers and can therefore emit sounds of any kind. Sensors detect which pages are open, and the necessary audio electronics and SD card are concealed in the book’s cover. Naturally, given their frequency response the sound quality has no chance even compared to a kitchen radio. The bass is much too “thin”, but high and medium frequencies are quite well reproduced. And surprisingly loud. The Reason about Mass-producible paper loudspeakers Actually the technology behind it is relatively simple.Perfectly ordinary paper is printed with two layers of a conductive organi polymer that act as electrondes.Next,the active element is between them,a piezoelectric layer that causes the paper to vibrate, thus exciting the air and producing the sound. The remaining difficulty is primarily that of developing a cost-effective mass production for it. There is a true news that two years ago, the Chemnitz researchers implemented the World Press Photo Foundation's Yearbook as a T-book under the cooperation with the Munich Advertising Agency Serviceplan. Unfortunately,this audio-tome,which was mainly down to the battery is too heavy while it weighted more than 3kg.Unsurprisingly, this small-series product ultimately proved too unwieldy and too expensive.  That is why the original method of producing individual sheets is to be superseded by a roll process, which will optimize both performance and appearance of paper loudspeakers.  In future, the electronic components will also be printed. This will considerably increase the efficiency of the entire manufacturing process and open up mass markets such as photobooks. In future, for example, instruction leaflets could read themselves aloud, and books could become accessible to blind people. The opposite effect is also possible – loudspeaker paper could be used to construct a force sensor or a microphone. What is called the “direct piezoelectric effect” responds to an elastically deformed solid by producing a voltage. This means that there are any number of useful applications, not necessarily things like chatty packaging, singing wallpaper and similar strident marketing hype. 

A New Breakthrough in Battery Technology The breakthrough comes from a team of engineers led by John Goodenough, the co-inventor of the lithium-ion battery. A new discovery has come out which could pave the way for batteries to last more, and it won’t explode. The breakthrough comes from a team of engineers led by John Goodenough, the co-inventor of the lithium-ion battery which is used to power everything from smartphones to electric cars. Led by John Goodenough and a team of engineers, the co-inventor of lithium-ion battery has made this breakthrough. The research was published in Energy and Environmental Science in December and publicized by the University of Texas last week. The research states that in the future a “solid-state” battery design could potentially hold up to three times more energy and charge faster than today’s batteries. The solid-state battery is still in the early stages of development and swaps out one of the essential parts of today’s lithium design—liquid electrolytes—for glass components. The glass electrolytes can store more energy and are much more stable since they prevent the formation of dendrites—metallic projections which grow through liquid electrolyte layers and cause short circuits and explosions. The researchers have stated that the glass electrolytes will allow them to exchange lithium for sodium, which would be cheaper and more eco-friendly option since it can be extracted from seawater. This means the batteries would not just be economical as well, but the will be more powerful than the current batteries we have today. The solid-state batteries can also work in extreme conditions, down to -4 degrees Fahrenheit. This could be a massive breakthrough for car batteries, which obviously have to work through extreme weather. This breakthrough sounds exciting—but it could still be a long way from coming to modern age smartphones. This was just preliminary research, similar to other solid state designs we have seen in the past, so there’s no timetable for when the batteries might actually be applied for practical use, if ever.As super battery started to be used in the works, lithium-ion may be history.  Super battery with supercapacitors“Super” is a popular adjective when it comes to energy storage. Supercapacitors even have it in their name. Now they supposedly make it possible to charge smartphones in seconds and power them for a week. Super! Supercapacitors are already being used in plenty of everyday things as replacements for or supplements to batteries. They power the rear lights on our bicycles when we stop, fill in for interruption-free power supplies in the event of an emergency, prevent data loss in static memories (SRAMs) and provide a brief horsepower boost and save gasoline in racecars by accumulating recovered braking energy. Unlike lithium-ion batteries, they can release and absorb a great deal of energy in a short period of time—hundreds of thousands of times with deep discharging and high currents. However, the storable charge quantity is low. That is why they are still too large and too expensive to be used in smartphone or tablets. The reason that rechargeable batteries and supercapacitors, which are also known as ultra- or double-layer capacitors, have opposing characteristics is the way they store a charge. While this happens in “sluggish” chemical processes such as oxidation, reduction and the storage of molecules or ions in batteries, when it comes to supercapacitors, it generally happens through “swift” charge separation, which is gentle on the electrodes. Ref.KY605-NH50BP-2KY605-BP33-12S-B7   

With the rapid increase in production of intermittent energy sources such as wind and solar, there is an increasing need for large-scale electrical energy storage systems to more efficiently match supply and demand for these renewable sources. Also, large-scale energy storage can increase the annual load factor (defined as the annual mean power divided by the maximum three-day mean power) by load leveling. Traditionally, pumped-hydro has been used for load leveling at large scale plants, but this is geographically limited to a small subset of locations.Flow batteries are especially attractive for these leveling and stabilization applications for electric power companies. In addition, they are also useful for electric power customers such as factories and office buildings that require increased capacities, uninterrupted supply, or backup power.And how much do you know anything about flow battery?  Flow BatteryA flow battery is a type of rechargeable battery where rechargeability is provided by two chemical components dissolved in liquids contained within the system and most commonly separated by a membrane. This technology is akin to both a fuel cell and a battery - where liquid energy sources are tapped to create electricity and are able to be recharged within the same system. One of the biggest advantages of flow batteries is that they can be almost instantly recharged by replacing the electrolyte liquid, while simultaneously recovering the spent material for re-energization. Different classes of flow cells (batteries) have been developed, including redox, hybrid and membraneless. The fundamental difference between conventional batteries and flow cells is that energy is stored as the electrode material in conventional batteries but as the electrolyte in flow cells.  A rechargeable battery to power a home from rooftop solar panelsRecently scientists have said that a rechargeable battery that could make storage of electricity from intermittent energy sources like solar and wind safe and cost-effective for both residential and commercial use. The new research builds on earlier work by members of the same team that could enable cheaper and more reliable electricity storage at the grid level. The mismatch between the availability of intermittent wind or sunshine and the variability of demand is a great obstacle to getting a large fraction of our electricity from renewable sources. This problem could be solved by a cost-effective means of storing large amounts of electrical energy for delivery over the long periods when the wind isn't blowing and the sun isn't shining. In the operation of the battery, electrons are picked up and released by compounds composed of inexpensive, earth-abundant elements (carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, iron and potassium) dissolved in water. The compounds are non-toxic, non-flammable, and widely available, making them safer and cheaper than other battery systems.  "This is chemistry I'd be happy to put in my basement," says Michael J. Aziz, Gene and Tracy Sykes Professor of Materials and Energy Technologies at Harvard Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), and project Principal Investigator. "The non-toxicity and cheap, abundant materials placed in water solution mean that it's safe—it can't catch on fire—and that's huge when you're storing large amounts of electrical energy anywhere near people." This new rechargeable battery chemistry was discovered by post-doctoral fellow Michael Marshak and graduate student Kaixiang Lin working together with co-lead author Roy Gordon, Thomas Dudley Cabot Professor of Chemistry and Professor of Materials Science at Harvard. "We combined a common organic dye with an inexpensive food additive to increase our battery voltage by about 50 percent over our previous materials," says Gordon. The findings "deliver the first high-performance, non-flammable, non-toxic, non-corrosive, and low-cost chemicals for flow batteries." Unlike solid-electrode batteries, flow batteries store energy in liquids contained in external tanks, similar to fuel cells. The tanks (which set the energy capacity), as well as the electrochemical conversion hardware through which the fluids are pumped (which sets peak power capacity), can be sized independently. Since the amount of energy that can be stored can be arbitrarily increased by scaling up only the size of the tanks, larger amounts of energy can be stored at lower cost than traditional battery systems.  Application&BenefitsThe main benefits of flow batteries can be aggregated into a comprehensive value proposition.The main features that distinguish flow batteries are:  Long service life: The semi-permanent electrolyte combined with minimal electrode degradation allows for a high number of full charge-discharge cycles before replacement is needed. The electrodes do not undergo physical/chemical changes, so they can be optimized for catalytic and electrical properties without having to design for holding active substances. Also, convective cooling of the electrodes by the pumped electrolyte aids in heat distribution and management. No standby loss: During prolonged gaps in use, there is little self-discharge since the charge-carrying electrolyte is stored in separate tanks. Low maintenance: The charge state of each cell is the same since the same electrolyte is used for all cells, thus overcharging is not necessary to guarantee a uniform a charge. Recyclability & Safety: Waste vanadium can be reused and cross-contamination across the positive and negative electrode compartments does not affect the composition. Also, the electrolytes are relatively nontoxic. Charging characteristics: Redox flow batteries are "not affected by fluctuating power demand, repeated total discharge, or charge rates as high as the maximum discharge rates."  These actions severely reduce cycle life in other batteries. Modularity: Perhaps most important is that energy capacity can be scaled independently of the power; cell characteristics such as electrode area do not need to be changed to modify capacity. This allows for underground storage of electrolyte in freeform tanks, which has been demonstrated successfully in a 20 kW system. Ref.KY605-BP12-12-T2KY605-EB50-12-I2