Issue 23
Week 3-9 June 2019
Welcome to the new edition of our Last Week In Batteries digest!
This weekly digest of developments in the battery space is intended as a demonstration of what one can do with Avogadro One. Avogadro One allows capturing relevant news easily and quickly, saving you valuable time. If you want to know when you can use Avogadro One for your own research, please sign up to our mailing list here. We would also be happy to hear any feedback.
This is a very basic review of last week's events relevant to the battery and fuel cell industries. We do not pretend to be experts in this space but as investors we find such an overview helpful. The digest is intentionally very brief and dry and is intended as a demonstration rather as an end product. We'd love to hear what tools/software/platforms you use to stay abreast of the events in your industries of interest: please answer our anonymous questionnaire.
Platinum-iridium catalyst for ethanol fuel cells
Chemists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) and the University of Arkansas have created a composite catalyst that efficiently breaks down ethanol to generate electricity. They call it a "game changer that will enable the use of ethanol fuel cells as a promising high-energy-density source of ‘off-the-grid’ electrical power.”
Impact areas: Ethanol fuel cells
Source: https://www.bnl.gov/newsroom/news.php?a=115562
Understanding silicon nanocrystals
Scientists from the University of Alberta have gained additional insights into the structure of silicon nanocrystals, "a substance that promises to provide efficient lithium ion batteries."
Impact areas: Li-ion battery performance
Source: https://www.ualberta.ca/science/science-news/2019/may/energy-efficiency-silicon-nanocrystals
Most detailed X-ray imaging of Li-ion battery electrodes
Researchers from several universities have used a new X-ray technique to obtain the most detailed images of battery electrodes as they undergo transformation during operation. This data should help scientists to understand how batteries fail and come up with better designs.
Impact areas: Li-ion battery durability
Affordable redox flow batteries
A spin-off of the Fraunhofer Institute, Volterion, is producing redox flow batteries that "cost around the same as a lithium ion battery, but last twice as long."
Impact areas: Grid-scale power storage
Fast batteries with organic cathodes
Chemists at Skoltech have developed organic cathodes based on polytriphenylamine that allow charging and discharging a battery in just 18 seconds. They used these electrodes in lithium, sodium and potassium batteries.
Impact areas: Battery research, battery performance
Dry battery manufacturing process
Fraunhofer Institute engineers have created and are testing a dry manufacturing technique where battery electrodes are coated "with a dry film instead of liquid chemicals." This saves costs, reduces toxicity and allows to produce battery types that are difficult to manufacture using the traditional wet process.
Impact areas: Battery costs, safety, environmental footprint
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