Issue 25
Week 17-23 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.
UK is testing a hydrogen train
UK saw a pilot run of its first hybrid hydrogen train, powered by "overhead lines or third rails, with the fuel cell kicking in where neither option exists". The train also has a Li-ion battery.
Impact areas: Hydrogen fuel-cell value chain
Extending the working temperature range for Li-ion batteries
Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have identified several additives that allow Li-ion batteries to work at a wider range of ambient temperatures, reporting "greatly enhanced discharging performance at -40 F and long-term cycling stability at 77 F, along with slightly improved cycling stability at 140 F."
Impact areas: Li-ion battery performance
Impact-resistant electrolyte
Materials scientists from the University of Akron have developed a shear-thickening electrolyte, which, when subjected to an impact, "will immediately behave like a solid and generate larger force to resist external impact." The goal is to make Li-ion batteries safer during crashes and impacts, especially in electric vehicles.
Impact areas: Li-ion battery safety
Source: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/06/190619130305.htm
"Robot blood"
Engineers from Cornell University have built a robotic fish powered by a fluid they called "robot blood," which both stores energy and moves the fins. According to the inventors, "The approach increased the amount of energy stored in the robot by 325%, compared with a machine that has a separate battery and hydraulic-fluid system."
Impact areas: Robotics
Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-01951-8
Advanced Electrolyte Model (AEM) for aqueous systems
Researchers have published "extensive experimental data for mixed and highly concentrated aqueous electrolyte systems, rapidly generated via a robotic electrolyte testing apparatus."
Impact areas: Battery safety and costs
Source: https://arxiv.org/abs/1906.06426
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