Green Technology

Arista designs and makes renewable energy systems and has partnered with GE to use their Durathon™Battery for their “Power on Demand” offering.

Power on Demand system uses renewable energy (wind, solar, …) and storage devices to keep that energy available for peak use.  Power on Demand can reduce energy costs by smoothing the demand for grid power and using stored power at peak times when energy charges are highest.

"“ … a custom-designed battery storage system and proprietary real-time demand monitoring technology. … releasing stored power only during peak demand periods, thereby reducing peak demand charges, … and lowering commercial electricity costs.”

GE’s Durathon Batteries are both smaller and lighter than traditional batteries, can last up to 20 years and are recyclable.

For more info on GE’s Durathon Batteries see geenergystorage.com.

Via:  Arista  LINK

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Panasonic along with Mitsui O.S.K Lines, Ltd. and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries are working on technologies to reduce CO2 emissions from ocean going ships.

The test platform is the “EMERALD ACE”.  The ship will be fitted with “ … solar panels (160kW planned) and lithium-ion rechargeable batteries (approximately 2.2MWh planned) … “

The solar panels charge batteries that provide power when in the harbor – in place of diesel generators reducing CO2 emissions.  The batteries are used as ballast and do not impact the carrying capacity of the ship.

Via: Panasonic  LINK

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needs storage to balance generation and demand requirements effectively.  The US DOE research agenda is beginning to focus grants exploring enablers for renewable energy storage.  …

…   “Without good ways of storing peak output for later release, alternative-energy plants become the most erratic parts …”   …

Via Bloomberg: Alternative Energy Storage.

Renewable energy storage awards.

California’s energy commission is supporting the research into energy storage, such as battery systems integrated with solar photovoltaics.

Novel approaches to energy storage include compressed gas, such as the technology offered by SustainX to store potential energy.

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GE charging station can be installed in the garage and quickly charge your electric vehicle to be ready for the next day’s commute.  The NEMA rating enables the device to be installed outdoors, if your situation requires.  …

…   “The GE WattStation Wall Mount delivers a full-cycle charge to a 24kWh battery in only 4-8 hours, whereas plugging an EV into a standard electrical outlet would require 12-18 hours to provide the same level of charge. 

Suitable for both indoor and outdoor installations, the GE WattStation Wall Mount is NEMA 3R rated to resist rain, sleet and even ice.

The unit measures only 24 inches tall, 16 inches wide and 6 inches deep.”   …

GE WattStation.

Press release for the WattStation.

Posted by Green Tech at 10:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Sumitomo Electric has developed a new metal that is adaptable for hybrid car batteries.

The material, Aluminum-Celmet is low in resistance and light and easily processed by cutting or shaping. 

“ … features lead to favorable filling, retaining and current-collecting performance, … recently been adopted as a positive electrode current collector in hybrid vehicle nickel-hydrogen batteries.”

Sumitomo’s studies show that it can increase battery capacity between 1.5 x and 3 x.  Another way to view this is that for a given charge capacity a battery footprint can be 1/3 to 2/3 smaller by volume.

Via:  Sumitomo Electric  LINK

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Changing stations will quickly swap battery packs into an electric vehicle in a few minutes.  Denmark begins to implement the EV infrastructure with the Better Place battery station.  …

…   “Better Place subscribers purchase their cars, but not the expensive battery packs. For a fixed fee of about $350 a month, they will lease access to the batteries, swap stations and charge points.”   …

Via New York Times: Better Place Stations.

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And, MIT researchers may be on the right track, as the school’s battery research team has re-architected the traditional battery design of storage and discharge functions.  …

…   “The new battery relies on an innovative architecture called a semi-solid flow cell, in which solid particles are suspended in a carrier liquid and pumped through the system.”   …

Via Massachusetts Institute of Technology: New Battery Design.

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Sodium chemistry expected to play larger role in energy storage of the future.  Aquion Energy, NGK, and Pacific Northwest National Labs are in various stages of research and commercialization with sodium enabled batteries.  …

…   “Sodium’s selling point seems to be in durability, low cost, efficiency and safety, depending on whom you talk to and the chemical formula.”   …

Via Seeking Alpha: Energy Storage Companies.

Aquion Energy.

NGK Japan.

Pacific Northwest National Labs: “By adding the right amount of heat, researchers have developed a method that improves the electrical capacity and recharging lifetime of sodium ion rechargeable batteries, which could be a cheaper alternative for large-scale uses …”

Transformative material science for batteries.

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Nanosys offers SiNANOde additive to address problems historically associated with using silicon in lithium ion battery anodes.  Yimin Zhu, director, battery & fuel cell, at Nanosys, explains that the additive deforms to fill void areas in the carbon anode material matrix and remains intact and fully functional after 100% DoD cycle testing.  …

…   “Nanosys’ architected materials increase the capacity of lithium ion batteries with its novel anode composite, maintaining standard coulombic efficiency, improving energy and power density, while providing the stability and safety of existing solutions.”   …

Via Nanosys: Energy Storage Solutions.

Nanosys, Inc. is an advanced material architect, harnessing the fundamental properties of inorganic materials into process ready systems that can integrate into existing manufacturing to produce vastly superior products in lighting, electronic displays, and energy storage.

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Storing and concentrating the power generated from solar panels so that it can be used throughout the day is key to driving utilization of this form of renewable energy.  Storage technologies range from batteries to pumped hydro.  The pumped hydro storage technique stores energy in the form of water, which has been pumped from a lower elevation to a higher elevation reservoir.  Then, when demand increases, the stored water is released to power turbines.  …

…   “But add storage to allow a utility to deliver in the evening the solar power that was generated during the morning and afternoon, and — through the magic of storage — the figure zooms dramatically.”   …

Via Wired: Renewable Energy.

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piloted by GE research team.  The team integrates a high-energy density sodium battery with a high-power lithium battery into a dual power system to optimize performance for acceleration and range.  …

…   “While significant advances in battery technology have been made, further reductions in the size and cost of batteries will be needed to enable the widespread adoption of electric vehicles.

GE researchers believe a dual system with high power and energy storage capacity could achieve the optimal electric driving range and acceleration requirements at a more practical size scale and cost for larger vehicles.

The research is being done as part of a $13 million research project GE is engaged in with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and Northeast Advanced Vehicle Consortium, funded under the National Fuel Cell Bus Program. ”   …

GE Hybrid Systems Team.

Research at GE.

National Fuel Cell Bus Program (PDF).

A view of fuel cell bus use in United States bus fleets (PDF).

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SEPTA is working with Viridity to harness energy from brake systems that is stored in batteries and reused to power its trains.  …

…   “piloting a smart electrical grid technology that could cut its electricity bills by up to 40 percent and generate millions of dollars a year.”   …

Via MIT Technology Review: Subway Power Generation.

Posted by Green Tech at 09:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Networked mobile charging integrated with electric vehicle intelligence will optimize the placement of recharge stations.  …

…   “To determine where the stations are needed, in-car sensors would monitor the level of charge in the battery and periodically report this to a central operations centre … ”   …

Via New Scientist: Mobile Chargers.

Electric vehicle researcher, Zafer Sahinoglu at Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories.

Posted by Green Tech at 11:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

SEPTA and Viridity Energy are working to reclaim and then reuse or resell the electricity generated by SEPTA subway and trolley cars. 

Much the same as a hybrid auto using regenerative braking to charge a battery - this system  sends the energy generated from braking subway cars back to the Subway power system for short term storage.  This turns the normally wasted energy into a resource.

Viridity Energy 's solution will " ... allow SEPTA to recycle the energy created from the regenerative braking ability of trains and trolleys ... ".  The braking energy will be stored in a large battery.

Benefits will include energy savings by storing the energy that can then be used to reduce SEPTA's draw from the GRID or even returned to the GRID for revenue during peaks use times.  It is projected that energy savings will result in over 1,200 tons of carbon emissions avoided per year and helping " ... balance electric generation and electric load on the PJM interconnection ..."

Via:  Viridity Energy  LINK

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Rapid charging could be just the capability to make electric vehicles more appealing to consumers.  Level 3 battery charging could reduce charge time to the thirty minute target.  Technology exists to address barriers to developing the EV infrastructure.  …

…   “ECOtality, also a partner in the EV Project, will roll out a public fast charger in the fall, and Mr. Read predicts that it will be easy for consumers to operate.”   …

Via New York Times: 30 minute recharge.

Frog Design Blink Level 2 Ev Charger: "A crucial component in making this a reality and bringing the EV to consumers across the country is the cultivation and creation of electric-vehicle charging stations that are available for both residential and commercial use. "

Posted by Green Tech at 09:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Research at Washington State University (Pullman, Washington) has developed a new compact battery with significantly greater power storage capacity.

" ... created a compact, never-before-seen material capable of storing vast amounts of energy.

" ... it is the most condensed form of energy storage outside of nuclear energy ... "

" ... is possible to store mechanical energy into the chemical energy of a material ..."

While not yet available for commercialization it could lead to a new class of compact powerful batteries.

Via:  Washington State University  LINK

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Solar Impulse is testing its ability to fly in the dark in this flight from Payerne in Switzerland.  ...

...  "The big question is whether the pilot can make efficient use of the battery energy to fly throughout the night. If this mission is successful, it will be the longest and highest flight ever made by a solar plane. "   ...

Via Solar Impulse Project: Night flight.

BBC: Solar test flight.

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Ford will deliver electric vehicles to the European market from its Valencia, Spain production facility.  …

…   “Ford Motor Company has significant experience with hybrid vehicles in North America, and will now extend this expertise to Europe as part of the company's aggressive global electrified vehicles strategy.  The reason for building both full Hybrid Electric Vehicle and Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle versions of the five-seat Ford C-MAX is to provide customers with greater choice to suit their specific driving and living environments.

Full HEVs charge their electric batteries through the use of the small displacement internal combustion engine along with energy recapture through the regenerative brake system, whereas PHEVs have the ability to also recharge their electric batteries through an external source, such as a conventional electric power socket. ”   …

Via Ford: Electric Vehicle Sourcing for Europe

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Dow has products for many part of the green economy ... from solar cells to batteries for electric cars to materials for solar cells.

"Dow ... has embarked upon a multi-pronged strategy to capitalize on the demand for renewable energy and low-carbon alternatives to conventional products. ... "

" ... Dow's secret [is] ... Material science, i.e. membranes, coatings and other difficult-to-manufacture items that require a lot of chemical know-how. ... will have a huge impact on ... core green markets ..."

" ... Dow Corning ... brought a silicone sealant originally devised for outer space solar panels to the conventional solar panel market ... Dow signed a multimillion dollar, multi-year research alliance with Caltech to develop next generation solar technologies. ..."

" ... will sell copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) solar roofing tiles. Initial customers for the tiles, developed in conjunction with Global Solar, include mass market home builders Lennar and Pulte Homes."

" ... is sponsoring Electric Avenue, the electric car hall at the North American International Auto Show  .... Dow Kokam, a joint venture, will also discuss batteries for electric cars at the show."

" ... wants a larger part of the water purification and desalination market, buying Rohm & Haas to help it expand ..."

Via:  Greentechmedia  LINK

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... "Solar City, a Silicon Valley neighbor of Tesla, has installed a whole corridor full of charging stations between the Bay Area and LA. " ...

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... "Better Place designed the software with a single goal in mind, calming the fears of owners of EVs who believe drained batteries will leave them stranded in the middle of nowhere. " ...

Continue reading "Electric Vehicle Range Addressed by Better Place" »

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PC manufacturers have long craved a long live battery ... one that provides many hrs per charge as well as one that last several years.  Consumers see this as a GREEN selling point and manufactures are looking to fill this need.

"HP has partnered with Boston-Power to offer a longer lasting notebook battery ... notebook batteries—powered by Boston-Power’s Sonata® lithium-ion battery cells— deliver like-new performance for three years ... longer-lasting power with Sonata cells that are Nordic Ecolabel certified. PLUS, enjoy the protection of HP’s 3-year battery warranty—an industry first!"  

Via:  HP  LINK

Posted by Green Dude at 04:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

... "Lead-acid batteries, which are used for transportation and stand-by applications, account for half of the rechargeable battery market. Although alternative battery chemistries are growing in popularity, such chemistries are not expected to diminish the demand for lead-acid. " ...

Continue reading "Lead-Acid Battery Chemistry Improvement" »

Posted by Green Tech at 09:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)