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Seeing how a lithium-ion battery works

June 8, 2014 in Battery Energy Storage, Electric Vehicles, Environment, EV News, Large Energy Storage

By David L. Chandler, MIT

An exotic state of matter — a “random solid solution” — affects how ions move through battery material.

Diagram illustrates the process of charging or discharging the lithium iron phosphate (LFP) electrode. As lithium ions are removed during the charging process, it forms a lithium-depleted iron phosphate (FP) zone, but in between there is a solid solution zone (SSZ, shown in dark blue-green) containing some randomly distributed lithium atoms, unlike the orderly array of lithium atoms in the original crystalline material (light blue). This work provides the first direct observations of this SSZ phenomenon. Image courtesy of authors.

Diagram illustrates the process of charging or discharging the lithium iron phosphate (LFP) electrode. As lithium ions are removed during the charging process, it forms a lithium-depleted iron phosphate (FP) zone, but in between there is a solid solution zone (SSZ, shown in dark blue-green) containing some randomly distributed lithium atoms, unlike the orderly array of lithium atoms in the original crystalline material (light blue). This work provides the first direct observations of this SSZ phenomenon.
Image courtesy of authors.

New observations by researchers at MIT have revealed the inner workings of a type of electrode widely used in lithium-ion batteries. The new findings explain the unexpectedly high power and long cycle life of such batteries, the researchers say.

The findings appear in a paper in the journal Nano Letters co-authored by MIT postdoc Jun Jie Niu, research scientist Akihiro Kushima, professors Yet-Ming Chiang and Ju Li, and three others.

The electrode material studied, lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4), is considered an especially promising material for lithium-based rechargeable batteries; it has already been demonstrated in applications ranging from power tools to electric vehicles to large-scale grid storage. The MIT researchers found that inside this electrode, during charging, a solid-solution zone (SSZ) forms at the boundary between lithium-rich and lithium-depleted areas — the region where charging activity is concentrated, as lithium ions are pulled out of the electrode.

Li says that this SSZ “has been theoretically predicted to exist, but we see it directly for the first time,” in transmission electron microscope (TEM) videos taken during charging.

The observations help to resolve a longstanding puzzle about LiFePO4: In bulk crystal form, both lithium iron phosphate and iron phosphate (FePO4, which is left behind as lithium ions migrate out of the material during charging) have very poor ionic and electrical conductivities. Yet when treated — with doping and carbon coating — and used as nanoparticles in a battery, the material exhibits an impressively high charging rate. “It was quite surprising when this [rapid charging and discharging rate] was first demonstrated,” Li says.

“We directly observed a metastable random solid solution that may resolve this fundamental problem that has intrigued [materials scientists] for many years,” says Li, the Battelle Energy Alliance Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering and a professor of materials science and engineering.

The SSZ is a “metastable” state, persisting for at least several minutes at room temperature. Replacing a sharp interface between LiFePO4 and FePO4 that has been shown to contain many additional line defects called “dislocations,” the SSZ serves as a buffer, reducing the number of dislocations that would otherwise move with the electrochemical reaction front. “We don’t see any dislocations,” Li says. This could be important because the generation and storage of dislocations can cause fatigue and limit the cycle life of an electrode.

Unlike conventional TEM imaging, the technique used in this work, developed in 2010 by Kushima and Li, makes it possible to observe battery components as they charge and discharge, which can reveal dynamic processes. “In the last four years, there has been a big explosion of using such in situ TEM techniques to study battery operations,” Li says.

A better understanding of these dynamic processes could improve the performance of an electrode material by allowing better tuning of its properties, Li says.

Despite an incomplete understanding to date, lithium iron phosphate nanoparticles are already used at an industrial scale for lithium-ion batteries, Li explains. “The science is lagging behind the application,” he says. “It’s already scaled up and quite successful on the market. It’s one of the success stories of nanotechnology.”

“Compared to traditional lithium-ion, [lithium iron phosphate] is environmentally friendly, and very stable,” Niu says. “But it’s important for this material to be well understood.”

While the discovery of the SSZ was made in LiFePO4, Li says, “The same principle may apply to other electrode materials. People are looking for high-power electrode materials, and such metastable states could exist in other electrode materials that are inert in bulk form. … The phenomenon discovered could be very general, and not specific to this material.”

Chongmin Wang, a research scientist at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory who was not involved in this research, calls this paper “great work.”

“Several models based on both theoretical and experimental work have been proposed,” Wang says. “However, none of them appears to be conclusive.”

This new research, he says, “provides convincing and direct evidence” of the mechanism at work: “The work is a major step forward for pushing the ambiguities toward favoring a solid solution model.”

The research was supported by the National Science Foundation.

This article is a repost, credit: MIT.

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Smoothing the Flow of Renewable Solar Energy in California’s Central Valley

May 23, 2014 in Battery Energy Storage, Environment, EV News, Greentech, Large Energy Storage

This EnerVault flow battery stores power from the solar panels and releases it as needed.  Photo courtesy of EnerVault

This EnerVault flow battery stores power from the solar panels and releases it as needed.
Photo courtesy of EnerVault

By Dr. Imre Gyuk, US DOE

Yesterday, an almond grove in California’s Central Valley hosted the opening of the world’s largest iron-chromium redox flow battery. Originally pioneered by NASA, these flow batteries are emerging as a promising way to store many hours of energy that can be discharged into the power grid when needed.

Traditionally, electric generation follows the demands of the daily load cycle. But as more sources of renewable generation such as solar and wind are integrated into the power grid, balancing demand and generation becomes more complicated. With energy storage, we can create a buffer that allows us to even out rapid fluctuations and provide electricity when needed without having to generate it at that moment.

Unlike other types of batteries, which are packaged in small modules, iron-chromium flow batteries consist of two large tanks that store liquids (called electrolytes) containing the metals. During discharge, the electrolytes are pumped through an electrochemical reaction cell and power becomes available. To store energy, the process is reversed. With Recovery Act funding from the Department’s Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, California energy storage company EnerVault has optimized the system to create a more efficient battery.

This pilot project in Turlock, California, can provide 250kW over a four-hour period, helping to ensure the almond trees stay irrigated and the farm is able to save money on its electrical bills.

This is how the system works: The almond trees are most thirsty between noon and 6 p.m. The farm uses nearly 225 kW of electricity to power the pumps that get the water to the trees. Onsite solar photovoltaic panels can supply 186kW at peak power, not quite enough energy for watering the trees throughout the day. The balance could be taken from the grid, but grid electricity is most expensive from noon to 6 p.m.

This is where storage enters.

At night electricity is inexpensive, so the batteries begin to charge up. In the morning the solar panels help top them up the rest of the way. Then, during expensive peak periods, the needs of the trees are satisfied by solar and flow batteries — renewable energy optimized through storage.

While the Turlock facility is a unique application, flow batteries are not just for thirsty almond trees. For example, they could be an especially good solution for small island grids such as Hawaii, where severe wind ramps or rapid changes in photovoltaic generation can destabilize the local grid, or at military bases that need to maintain mission-critical functions.

Similarly, flow batteries paired with renewables can be used in a resilient microgrid that can continue to operate when disasters strike and power outages ensue.

In the face of changing climate conditions, energy storage and grid resiliency have become more critical than ever. Flow battery technology is expected to play a vital role in supporting the grid both in California and across the U.S.

This article is a repost, credit: US DOE.

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Harvesting a solar farm

April 25, 2014 in Battery Energy Storage, Electric Vehicles, EV News, Greentech, Large Energy Storage, LEAF, Nissan, Solar

OSAKA, Japan – The man-made island of Yumeshima in western Japan’s Osaka is now home to the world’s first large-scale energy storage system, a project that also highlights the potential to reuse electric vehicle batteries.

Photo courtesy of Nissan

Photo courtesy of Nissan

Hikari-no-Mori, or “Forest of Light,” is a mega-solar project of 36,000 solar panels built on top of a landfill and managed by Sumitomo Corporation.

“This is the Osaka ‘Hikari-no-mori Project’ mega-solar power generation facility, a project with eight other companies,” said Mugihiko Ozeki, Senior Associate, Battery Business Development at Sumitomo. “We are testing the system controlling the output of the battery packs that charge the energy generated by this 10-megawatt mega-solar power station, linking the data from the photovoltaic panels in real time.”

A joint venture between Sumitomo and Nissan called 4R Energy – Reuse, Resell, Refabricate and Recycle – uses 16 lithium-ion batteries from EVs to help monitor energy fluctuations and store the solar farm’s energy output.

Natural energy sources, such as solar and wind, vary in strength and frequency, and the innovative battery management system developed by 4R is the first of its kind, says the firm’s President Eiji Makino.

“Depending on use, a battery’s degree and rate of deterioration, and the battery’s condition, vary by vehicle,” says Makino. “So 4R has created a technology that allows us to have optimal control in regulating those conditions.”

The project is part of a three-year test under Japan’s Environment Ministry to expand renewable energy resources and power grid management. In Japan, electricity liberalization will be realized after 2016.

Photo courtesy of Nissan

Photo courtesy of Nissan

The batteries have up to 70% of capacity remaining – the average left after 100,000 kilometers or five years of driving.

Sumitomo General Manager Norihiko Nonaka said his company, in cooperation with 4R, expects to make the results of the project commercially viable in five years or so.

“The electricity-value-chain is divided into three sections: electricity generation, transmission and distribution. We would like to focus on electricity generation and transmission. If we rely on renewables to obtain energy, like solar and wind, they don’t always generate the necessary amount of energy and that may cause an issue with supply-and-demand,” said Nonaka. “On the other hand, if the cost of batteries is too high and is economically inefficient, 4R will have to continue to work and investigate the situation and market in the long term, about five years or maybe after 2020. By saving energy into power storage or batteries, our goal is to create a balance in supply versus demand, or create a system with the battery to maintain the quality of the electricity.”

In the meantime, the mega-solar farm will offer insights on energy management and storage, illumination that will eventually provide a power supply for Osaka.

This article is a repost, credit: Nissan. Video courtesy of Nissan.

Tesla Raises Two Billion, Gaga for Giga

February 28, 2014 in Battery Energy Storage, Electric Vehicles, EV enthusiast, EV News, Large Energy Storage, Tesla

Tesla Giga Factory rendering Image courtesy of Tesla

Tesla Giga Factory rendering
Image courtesy of Tesla

Tesla Painted a Picture for Wall Street

Tesla sold the Giga Factory to Wall Street, raising two billion from convertible notes, helping to alleviate doubts about the company’s ability to become a major auto mass producer. The five ($800 million) and seven year ($1.2 billion) convertible notes pay meager coupons of .25% and 1.25% respectfully, which should raise few near-term financial concerns considering Tesla’s fantastic sales growth expectations. The stock (TSLA) hit a high of $265 on Wednesday, which came shortly after a bullish report ($320 price target) from Morgan Stanley Analyst Adam Jonas. TSLA closed at 244.81 per share today, down 3.06%.

CEO Elon Musk is the golden boy with the Midas touch. He knows how to paint a picture, and this last one had sustainable sugar plums dancing in Wall Street’s head, with solar, wind, and batteries galore. Mr. Musk also plays to win and to win big, holding a 27% stake in Tesla as of December 31 2013, which is greatly admired by most players, big and small.

Goldman Sachs keeps dragging along in TSLA’s rearview mirror, raising its price target to $170, but remaining skeptical about the stock’s valuation. Goldman is not alone in thinking Tesla’s 30 billion market capitalization is excessive, but most skeptics have been silenced due to Tesla’s excellent execution and business integrity.

Tesla Production Guesstimates

Tesla plans to be producing about 1,000 electric cars a week by the end of 2014 at its Fremont Factory, up from about 600 a week today. By 2020, the future Giga Factory is expected to produce enough batteries for 500,000 Tesla electric cars a year, which is the approximate capacity limit of the Fremont Factory. On the Q4 conference call, CEO Musk expressed his best guesses for future demand for the Model S and X, estimating about 1,000 a week for each, possibly more for the X, leaving the remaining capacity for the Gen III. For clarity, let’s round these figures to be 50,000 S, 50,000 X and 400,000 Gen III by 2020.

Gen III, The Major Road Ahead

As of December 31 2013, Tesla had only produced about 2,500 Roadsters and a little over 25,000 Model S cars. These are small numbers; however, Tesla has tremendous opportunities ahead within the two trillion dollar plus global new auto market (CEO Elon Musk stat. Q4 cc). The Gen III is the big act to come. If the Gen III lives up to expectations, Tesla will need more Giga, more Fremont Factory, more Supercharger, more everything Tesla.

Tesla has been studying charging strategies for apartment dwellers. On the Q4 cc, CEO Musk simply stated: “We are working pretty hard on that. We believe we’ve got some good solutions. We’re going to talk more about that in the coming months.”

Morgan Stanley sees Tesla also disrupting the electric utility business with stationary battery storage. Certainly, Tesla has an opportunity in this field, especially in home energy storage with its relationship with SolarCity, but it is still far too early to judge the long-term technological direction of this market. There are multiple battery designs and chemistries that may prove to be more economical as stationary storage but unsuitable within an electric vehicle. Regardless of the battery storage business, Tesla has plenty of lithium-ion battery demand for electric cars for years to come.

Tesla tweeted today: “Tesla Superchargers have charged over 10 MILLION miles to Model S. Enough to go to the Moon & back 20 times.”

The Oil Elephant in the Room

President Barack Obama shakes hands with a worker as he and Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx tour the Metro Transit Light Rail Operations and Maintenance Facility in St. Paul, Minn., Feb. 26, 2014. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

President Barack Obama shakes hands with a worker as he and Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx tour the Metro Transit Light Rail Operations and Maintenance Facility in St. Paul, Minn., Feb. 26, 2014. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Vice President Joe Biden sits at the controls of one of Amtrak's new "Cities Sprinter" electric locomotives at the 30th Street Station in Philadelphia, Pa., Feb. 6, 2014. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)

Vice President Joe Biden sits at the controls of one of Amtrak’s new “Cities Sprinter” electric locomotives at the 30th Street Station in Philadelphia, Pa., Feb. 6, 2014. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)

With peak oil a primary concern, President Obama and Vice President Biden spent time recently reviewing transit electric vehicles. Maybe, just maybe, they will entertain the Hyperloop idea.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil closed the week at $102.59 per barrel. Brent is around $109. With Cushing oil inventories declining to normal levels, the spread between WTI and Brent should near parity.

The world has been locked into a doomed relationship with the oil market, being led by the dubious Saudi America, setting up the world economy for a hard fall. Saudi America is a fantasy state that ignores oil depletion, and it is crowding out normal economic development, wasting monies and time on energy projects that are archaic.

Tesla has the most sensible strategy to a sustainable world, aiming first at reducing gasoline demand.

Giga Factory Future

The future for electric cars, renewables and battery storage has never looked better, with particular thanks to Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Tesla plans to have the Giga Factory powered by wind and solar, with battery storage most likely as well. Panasonic is expected to be a major partner in the future factory, building upon its existing supplier relationship to Tesla today. Tesla CEO Musk expects there to be multiple partners due to the heavy capital costs to build the factory, estimated at 4-5 billion.

By 2020, the Giga Factory battery cell output is expected to be an incredible 35 GWh/yr, producing more battery cells than the entire 2013 worldwide market, according to Tesla Motors. In its first year of production (2017), the factory is expected to drop battery pack costs by more than 30% due in large part to economies to scale. It is in 2017 that Tesla plans to start ramping production of its much awaited and much needed Gen III car.

In a blog post, Tesla highlighted Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada as states in the running for the Giga Factory site, which would employ approximately 6,500 people. Unfortunately, California has been mysteriously missing from the Giga Factory location list, surprising many due to the obvious logistical benefits for Tesla. California Governor Jerry Brown announced yesterday that he will be running for re-election, which is great news for the environmental movement. Maybe Governor Brown still has time to talk Giga and Hyperloop too.

About EV News Report

EV News Report is a community blogging website for electric vehicle and greentech enthusiasts, as well as peak oil activists. Please help accelerate the electric vehicle and greentech movements by submitting an original article to EV News Report by following the video instructions on the About tab.

The world is transitioning from the fossil fuel age to the clean electric energy era. Two major world emergencies are driving this change:

1. There are over 7 billion people on the planet according to the United Nations. Today’s worldwide economic growth is placing tremendous demands on the energy sector. Unfortunately, according to the International Energy Agency, approximately 80% of the world’s energy is derived from fossil fuels. Absent an energy revolution, climate research tells us that the planet will be significantly warmer and altered for future generations.

2. The oil market is expensive and fragile. The door is open to green alternatives; however, high oil prices may destroy the currencies of oil dependent nations before the EV and greentech revolutions have a chance to reach mass adoption.

Sustainable San Francisco, Racing to 100% Renewable

February 6, 2014 in Battery Energy Storage, Electric Vehicles, EV News, Geothermal, Greentech, Large Energy Storage, Solar, Sustainable San Francisco, Tesla, Wind

photo (22)

The healthy influence of Tesla Motors in San Francisco has naturally pushed the clean renewable electric movement forward. Nowadays, Model S cars dot San Francisco streets, and the Model X and Gen III are expected to join the S relatively soon. Tesla’s Fremont Factory and Palo Alto headquarters are in the South Bay, about 45 minutes south of San Francisco by car.

SolarCity Spokesman Will Craven stated by email: “According to an internal customer survey, 6.5% of SolarCity customers own an electric vehicle, compared to EV’s .6% market share of all cars sold. Electric vehicles and rooftop solar are an ideal match, especially when you consider that a PV system essentially helps pay for the car and fuel costs.”

The electric energy revolution is the new road ahead. This is the New Energy Deal; renewable energy systems embedded into homes, buildings and landscape. San Francisco has an active commercial PACE program, called GreenFinanceSF, and the City plans to revive a residential PACE program by late spring, according to Rich Chien with the SF Department of the Environment.

Sharon Hoff of the SF Department of the Environment has stated that the City is aware of the need for overnight EV charging facilities for apartment dwellers. Her department has some good ideas; however, the SF Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) has authority over the municipal parking garages and has a Transit-First Policy. The SFMTA may want to consider adding the future Tesla Gen III to its transit list.

Renewable San Francisco

As with many progressive cities today, San Francisco is driving towards a goal of 100% renewable energy. According to SF Renewable Energy Program Manager Danielle Murray, the City reached 46% renewable including large hydro as of the most recent collection of statistics. However, to get from 46% to 100% renewable, San Francisco needs battery storage to store intermittent renewable energy from the wind and sun.

The weather does not always cooperate for large hydro either; even large hydro and geothermal renewable leader, Iceland, could use large battery storage. Due to low reservoirs, Iceland’s state power company, Landsvirkjun, may have to reduce power to customers in the near-term.

To say the least, renewables are in; fossil fuels are out! The last San Francisco based fossil fuel power plant (natural gas / diesel plant in the Potrero Hill neighborhood) closed about two years ago after the completion of the Trans Bay Cable (TBC); the TBC brings energy from primarily California sources, including renewables. By utilizing renewables with large battery storage in the future, the TBC offers one potential path to raise the City’s renewable percentage significantly. The latest statistics for California renewables can be found here.

Battery Storage

Harvard scientists have been testing a promising organic flow battery that has the potential to revolutionize the energy world. This battery storage system could store large amounts of wind and solar energy (in a relatively cheap manner) that could be utilized upon demand, enabling the world to greatly accelerate the uptake of renewable energies. These Harvard scientist are still in the “test tube and beaker stage” according to CEO Trent Molter of Sustainable Innovations, a business and technology partner with the Harvard team.

On the phone yesterday, Harvard’s Michael Aziz stated that he is excited about the prospects for this new battery, especially as large commercial / utility-scale battery storage. “The economics look better as we scale up,” said Dr. Aziz. He feels confident about the cycle life, having cycled the battery 106 times, but he still needs to complete thousands of cycles to be sure, prior to commercialization. Currently, he is evaluating possibilities to obtain a “higher voltage.” He wants a demo version that “works so well” that it wows the market. No, William Gates has not contacted him yet with a check to race the battery to market, but he has received a number of calls from the media.

Michael J. Aziz (pictured) and others at Harvard University have developed a metal-free flow battery that relies on the electrochemistry of naturally abundant, small organic molecules to store electricity generated from renewable, intermittent energy sources. (Photo by Eliza Grinnell, SEAS Communications.) Courtesy of Harvard University

Michael J. Aziz (pictured) and others at Harvard University have developed a metal-free flow battery that relies on the electrochemistry of naturally abundant, small organic molecules to store electricity generated from renewable, intermittent energy sources. (Photo by Eliza Grinnell, SEAS Communications.)
Courtesy of Harvard University

In a Fox Business interview on January 14, 2014, Dr. Aziz stated: “We have a design that allows us to discharge for many hours to even days, because we store the energy in chemicals outside the battery itself.” Dr. Aziz continued: “We have the first battery chemistry that has a really good chance of coming in for less than a cent a kilowatt hour.”

CEO Molter envisions a 200 kilowatt modular battery storage system that would be scalable to service small to very large energy storage needs. He plans to start with a portable “show and tell” system in order to demonstrate the product and build awareness; however, he stressed that Harvard still has work to do in the lab. Molter sees the world developing into a “mishmash” of energy systems: distributed energy, micro grids and large grid energy. With greater innovation and time, energy paths should favor distributed energy, depending on the multitude of variables in the local environment.

Renewable Island

There are many 100% renewable island examples and projects in development around the world, where a number of approaches have been taken, such as: Samsoe Island, Tokelau, Isle of Eigg and Aruba to name just a few.

As something akin to an island economy, San Franciscans can relate to the insular energy revolution which has been sprouting around the world. Despite its large population of about 825,000 (US Census Bureau), the City has a small feel, being atop a scenic peninsula; San Francisco is only about seven miles long by seven miles wide. In this town, it is often easier, quicker and more pleasant to walk, run or bike to your destination than to wade through the transit system.

As the oil barrel depletes around the world, San Franciscans will certainly manage better than most. We can gather on our Better Market Street and talk about a better world, the electric energy revolution. We may even see tailpipe smoking bans in the City’s future, keeping the internal combustion engine out of downtown pedestrian zones. Oh, they may rev their engines in disapproval, but most people don’t want to breath carbon monoxide. The City has programs in place to help businesses and residents go healthy green: CleanPowerSF, Municipal Installations, GreenFinanceSF and SF Energy Map.

So, here we go running off to 100% renewable, but we all know it’s not that simple. Fortunately or unfortunately, San Francisco residents do not have very large home electric bills due to the mild climate, which has limited the demand for solar systems, 4024 (residential and commercial) as of last count (Danielle Murray), with the predominate number being residential. However, as more and more City residents and businesses purchase electric vehicles, these customers will also purchase solar systems (vice versa). Of course, being San Francisco, we will continue to experiment with all renewable options, as did the Golden Gate National Park Service (picture below).

photo (24)

The Golden Gate National Park Service (NPS) has recently turned San Francisco’s Crissy Field into a natural paradise, which has attracted a boom of tourists walking, running and biking along the San Francisco Bay Trail (Crissy Field to the Golden Gate Bridge). Locals also flock to this park, as do the “nearly 100 species of birds” (NPS) to the restored tidal marsh (picture below).

photo (26)

Moving Ahead with Renewables

California Independent Systems Operator (CalISO) Spokesman Steven Greenlee said that CalISO is studying how California can eventually go 100% renewable, utilizing large battery storage systems and various aggregated distributed energy systems. At present, he says the state is on target to reach its goal of 33% renewable by 2020 (California Renewables Portfolio Standard).

Today, as the world’s financial structure creaks and groans around expensive oil, we can now imagine a better environment ahead. It would be best to just let go of the oil world and trust the market to build anew. The puzzle pieces to 100% renewable are coming together. If oil went to $200 a barrel, the demand for electric vehicles, as well as solar, wind, and other renewables (including battery storage) would skyrocket, fostering greater innovation to come.

We can see clearly now that a sustainable world unites us and how the fossil fuel world has divided us. In great contrast to oil, there’s plenty of sun, wind, water and geothermal in the world to sustain our energy needs. In the San Francisco Bay Area, epicenter of the counter culture movement and the technology boom, there’s no shortage of energy ideas to change the world for the better. Team Tesla recently drove across the United States, Los Angeles to New York, via Supercharger in 76 hours. Go Tesla!

About EV News Report

EV News Report is a community blogging website for electric vehicle and greentech enthusiasts, as well as peak oil activists. Please help accelerate the electric vehicle and greentech movements by submitting an original article to EV News Report by following the video instructions on the About tab.

The world is transitioning from the fossil fuel age to the clean electric energy era. Two major world emergencies are driving this change:

1. There are over 7 billion people on the planet according to the United Nations. Today’s worldwide economic growth is placing tremendous demands on the energy sector. Unfortunately, according to the International Energy Agency, approximately 80% of the world’s energy is derived from fossil fuels. Absent an energy revolution, climate research tells us that the planet will be significantly warmer and altered for future generations.

2. The oil market is expensive and fragile. The door is open to green alternatives; however, high oil prices may destroy the currencies of oil dependent nations before the EV and greentech revolutions have a chance to reach mass adoption.

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Electrovaya Receives Initial Purchase Order for Lithium Ion SuperPolymer®2.0 Batteries from OEM for the United Arab Emirates

September 27, 2013 in Environment, EV News, Greentech, Large Energy Storage

ElectrovayaLogoToronto, Ontario September 24, 2013 Electrovaya Inc. (TSX: EFL) today announced that it has received a purchase order for approximately USD 1.0 million from an OEM in the United Arab Emirates. The order is for a high-value application for strategic portable power systems and is the first order from the Middle East. It is expected the OEM will continue to purchase larger quantities of portable power systems from Electrovaya. This order was received after intensive testing of its Lithium Ion SuperPolymer®2.0 battery under field conditions. The Electrovaya technology contains unique innovations and is supported by over 150 patents.

The Electrovaya system will consist of its next generation 2.0 cells along with its latest mechanical and electrical technology and Battery Management System (BMS). The delivery of this initial order will be completed in about 8-10 weeks. The UAE order demonstrates Electrovaya’s ability to convert its robust pipeline into revenue opportunities, following the launch of its next generation 2.0 platform.

“We are pleased to enter the growing clean technology industry in the Middle East, as the region continues to invest in clean sustainable technology to combat climate change,” says Gan Danardojo, Project Director for Electrovaya. “The OEM and Electrovaya worked closely in specifying and developing this product and we believe this portable power system will have a wide usage in many other countries,” continues Mr. Danardojo. “We also expect the OEM to launch this product into Europe and other markets. The sales and distribution team in the UAE is excellent and we expect the demand for our products in the region will exceed all expectations.”

“Our product energy demand was exacting and intense, and we are pleased to discover Electrovaya and look forward to many years of fruitful collaboration,” says Youssef Al Hansali, CEO of Vitronic UAE.

Electrovaya made today’s announcement while in the UAE as part of a mission led by Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC). The development and demonstration of Electrovaya’s Lithium Ion SuperPolymer®2.0 battery technology has been supported by SDTC, a not-for-profit corporation created by the Government of Canada to support innovative clean technologies.

“This purchase order is another example of the growing commitment that the UAE is showing to clean technology. I am very pleased to see the relationships fostered by Canada-UAE Innovation Partnership Week result in this agreement. This is another example of Canadian companies providing world class solutions in this sector,” noted H.E. Arif Lalani, Canada’s Ambassador to the UAE.

The Honourable Dr. Eric Hoskins, Ontario’s Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Employment, said “Ontario companies are global leaders in clean technology and we are delighted to see the increase of Ontario technology exports to the region. We are proud of Ontario’s small- and medium-sized businesses like Electrovaya that are expanding into new markets and in doing so, creating jobs here in Ontario.”

About Electrovaya Inc.

Electrovaya Inc. (TSX:EFL) designs, develops and manufactures proprietary Lithium Ion SuperPolymer®2.0 batteries, battery systems, and battery-related products for the clean electric transportation, Utility Scale Energy Storage and smart grid power, consumer and healthcare markets. The Company’s mission is to accelerate clean transportation as a commercial reality with its advanced power system for all classes of zero-emission electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. The Company’s other mission is to deliver Utility Scale Energy Storage Systems for the highest efficiency in electricity storage, whether the electricity is generated from intermittent wind and solar power or from other sources. Founded in 1996 and headquartered in Ontario, Canada, Electrovaya has production facilities in Canada and customers around the globe. To learn more about how Electrovaya is powering mobility, please explore Electrovaya.

This article is a repost, credit: Electrovaya. Image courtesy of Electrovaya

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ViZn Energy Systems, Inc. Launches Large Scale Energy Storage Battery for Micro-Grid Market

September 22, 2013 in Environment, EV News, Greentech, Large Energy Storage

Photo courtesy of Idaho National Laboratory Wind Energy Program

Photo courtesy of Idaho National Laboratory Wind Energy Program

Zinc Redox Flow Battery is Capable of 10,000 Cycles and 20 Plus Year Lifespan

What is the key to effectively utilizing alternative energy sources such as wind and solar? Safe and inexpensive storage. Today (9-17-13) the industry moves one giant step closer to solving the world’s energy limitation as ViZn Energy Systems, Inc. (formerly Zinc Air, Inc.) starts manufacturing its new Zinc Redox Flow Battery for customer pre-orders in the US and Europe.

ViZn’s Z20 160 kWh Zinc Redox Flow Battery is one of the most cost-effective and safe energy flow batteries on the market capable of providing scalable storage systems for the growing micro-grid markets and renewable integration.

“Right now more than 50 percent of all power generated is wasted before it ever gets to the end user,” explains Craig Wilkins, ViZn Energy Systems, Inc., President and CEO. “Storage batteries like our flow battery could help eliminate the billions of dollars of wasted energy each year. The impact this could have on the world is tremendous. It is understandable why the global smart grid market is expected to cumulatively surpass 400 billion dollars worldwide by 2020, according to a recent report by GTM Research.”

With more than fifteen years of research and intense product development cycles behind it, ViZn’s patented flow-battery technology breaks the cost/benefit threshold that is currently limiting widespread adoption of storage. Delivering a 1MW /2.5MWh battery system at lower pricing than current competition allows for more rapid industry adoption, wider commercial acceptance, and greater reduction of fossil fuel carbon emissions. ViZn’s Zinc Redox Flow Battery has overcome the key obstacles faced within the industry with an inventive use of materials and chemistry to provide a solution that is:

  • Cost Effective: ViZn implements low-cost chemistry, construction materials, and manufacturing processes that provide the foundation for a cost-effective system. In a micro-grid application, the ViZn battery system teamed with renewable generation can provide 20 percent annual returns over diesel-only generation.
  • Safe: ViZn’s battery is intrinsically safe with chemistry used in food-grade material that is non-flammable, non-explosive and non-toxic.
  • Scalable: ViZn’s Zinc Redox Flow Battery has the ability to scale to hundreds of Megawatts.
  • Reliable: ViZn’s Zinc Redox Flow Battery is estimated to have a 20 plus year lifespan.
  • Sustainable: ViZn’s Zinc Redox Flow Battery is composed of widely abundant and low cost materials.

“ViZn’s Zinc Redox technology has been designed to provide economical value by optimizing the balance between power and capacity. Our battery can provide power services such as renewable integration, regulation and ramping, while having enough energy capacity to economically provide load shifting and energy arbitrage,” said John Lowell, ViZn Energy Systems, Inc. COO and VP of Manufacturing and Product Development. “In addition, the 20 year life and safe operation of our battery separate us from other competing technologies.”

Availability

ViZn Energy Systems, Inc. is taking orders for the Z20 160 kWh Zinc Flow Batteries now with volume manufacturing ramping up in Q2 of 2014.

To learn more, visit http://www.viznenergy.com.

About ViZn Energy Systems, Inc.

ViZn Energy Systems, Inc., formerly Zinc Air, Inc., is comprised of a visionary team of scientists, engineers and business leaders that are passionate about creating and commercializing a revolutionary energy storage solution for the micro grid market. Founded in 2009 and based on ten previous years of research, ViZn is commercializing energy storage systems for mega-watt applications. The ViZn solution is safe, reliable, cost effective, and scalable to meet the needs of today’s ever changing energy landscape.

This article is a repost, (release 9-17-13) credit: ViZn Energy.