Batteries

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Nextreme Thermal Solutions (Durham, NC) and Infinite Power Solutions, Inc. (Denver, CO) offer a thermal charger that can continuously recharge the IPS THINERGY^TM Micro-Energy Cell (MEC) using an eTEG thermoelectric power generator from Nextreme. Storing energy harvested from waste heat using thermoelectrics enables an alternative energy source for various autonomous applications.
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Duke University engineers have developed a novel approach that they believe can more efficiently harvest electricity from the motions of everyday life. Although motion is an abundant source of energy, only limited success has been achieved because the devices used only perform well over a narrow band of frequencies.
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A new type of redox flow battery from the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology (ICT) offers an advantage for electric cars. If the rechargeable batteries are low, the discharged electrolyte fluid can simply be exchanged at the gas station for recharged fluid – as easy as refilling the gas tank.
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MIT scientists have found that carbon nanotubes could be formed into tiny springs capable of storing as much energy, pound for pound, as the best lithium-ion batteries - potentially more durably and reliably.
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Lithium-ion batteries for advanced vehicles still have issues of safety and costs in terms of materials resources and abundances, synthesis, and recycling processes. Jean-Marie Tarascon, a professor at France's University of Picardie Jules Verne, discusses materials for better lithium-based storage systems.
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Blooms of Cladophora algae may be troublesome, but they do have a positive side. Researchers at the Ångström Laboratory of Sweden's Uppsala University have discovered that the cellulose nanostructure of these algae can serve as an effective coating substrate for use in environmentally friendly batteries.
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EnergyOr Technologies Inc., of Montreal, Canada, has designed, constructed, and tested an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) platform to demonstrate its fuel cell hybrid technology. EnergyOr's system will achieve 8 hours flight endurance in the near future.
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A John H. Glenn Research Center-developed controller features distributed charge control and a masterless communication bus, enhancing its robustness for use in battery energy-storage applications. The modular battery charge controller is required in battery chemistries that need cell-level charge control for safety.
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Polyimide-PEO copolymers with branched rod-coil molecular structures, that can be cured into film form at room temperature, have been invented for use as gel electrolytes for lithium-ion electric- power cells. These copolymers offer an alternative to previously patented branched rod-coil polyimides, and an advantage in room-temperature functionality.
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In 1924, General Motors president Alfred P. Sloan Jr. devised annual model-year design changes in order to maintain unit sales. Body shapes faced cosmetic changes every year, whether or not the underlying automobile had changed. This breakthrough strategy had widespread effects on the automobile business, automotive design, and eventually the United States economy. In recent years, amongst a worsening economy and a struggling auto industry, the underlying automobile has changed rapidly, with emphases on efficiency and environmental friendliness.
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Fibers have been investigated at Johnson Space Center as alternatives to other powders used as lithium-intercalation compounds in cathodes of rechargeable lithium-ion electrochemical cells. The fibers can be pressed and sintered to form a cathode, without need for a binder or a conductive additive. The inter-grain contacts of the fibers are stronger and offer reduced loss of capacity from cycle to cycle.
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A proposed system would exploit the ocean thermal gradient for recharging the batteries in a battery-powered unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) of a type that has been deployed in large numbers to research global warming. A UUV of this type travels between the ocean surface and depths, measuring temperature and salinity.
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An alternative system for exploiting the ocean thermal gradient to generate power would be based on the thawing-expansion/freezing-contraction behavior of a wax, or perhaps another suitable phase-change material. The power generated by this system would be used to recharge the batteries in a battery-powered unmanned underwater vehicle.
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