Bringing Sustainable and Affordable Electricity to All

A Cambridge, MA-based startup is commercializing MIT/IIT-Comillas University-developed planning and analysis software to help governments determine the most cost-effective ways to provide electricity to all their citizens.

Electric Vehicles Play a Surprising Role in Supporting Grid Resiliency

Widespread electrification initiatives are increasing the demands on America’s aging power grid, but utilities and consumers may have an unlikely ally in electric...

New Modeling Approach Helps to Understand Faults in the Modern Electric Grid

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory are leading the way in understanding the effects of electrical faults in the modern...

Developing Fast-Charging Lithium-Metal Batteries

Engineers have made progress toward lithium-metal batteries that charge as fast as an hour. This fast charging is thanks to lithium metal crystals that can be seeded and grown — quickly and uniformly — on a surprising surface.

2023 Create the Future Design Contest: Automotive & Transportation Finalist

See the 2023 Create the Future Design Contest's Automotive & Transportation Finalist: the Ganaio High-Output Regenerative Damper.

Carbon Fiber Sleeve Tempers Battery Thermal Runaway

Innovators at NASA Johnson Space Center have developed a carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) sleeve, that, when fitted over a cylindrical Li-ion battery cell, can prevent cell-to-cell propagation by containing a thermal runaway (TR) event to the originating cell.

Dry Manufacturing Process for EV Batteries

Researchers continue to refine the process to improve electrochemical performance. The goal is to balance the benefits and drawbacks of the thicker electrode: It has the potential for higher energy loading and is easy to roll, but it may provide less power, since the ions have further to travel.

Combustion-Powered, Bug-Sized Robots can Leap, Lift, and Race

Researchers combined soft microactuators with high-energy-density chemical fuel to create an insect-scale quadrupedal robot that is powered by combustion.

Optimize Charging for Maximum Solar Energy Harvesting

There is no one-size-fits-all answer. If you need the least expensive option, direct charging works. If you can spend more, you can opt for a PWM circuit. If the price is secondary and you need the absolute best performance, a true MPPT may be the best solution for your application.

AI-Based Generative Engineering for Hybrid Vehicle Design

The future of transportation is shifting toward hybrid and electric vehicles (xEV), making the development of powertrain systems more intricate. Meeting stringent development timelines adds to the challenges faced by the industry.

Here's an Idea: The Gripen E Jet's New Li-ion Battery

Frank Puglia, EaglePicher's Director of Research and Development, is the guest on this episode of the Here's an Idea podcast to discuss the Gripen E jet’s new Li-ion battery.

Going the Distance for Better Wireless Charging

Accounting for radiation loss is the key to efficient wireless power transfer over long distances. Aalto University engineers have optimized the way antennas transmitting and receiving...

An Electrifying Collaboration: From the Lab to the Marketplace

Matthias Preindl, associate professor of electrical engineering at Columbia Engineering, and Wesley Pennington, the founder and CEO of Tau Motors, have formed a collaboration...

A Li-ion Battery Material for Faster, More Efficient EV Charging

ORNL researchers recently developed a Li-ion battery material that not only recharges 80 percent of its capacity in 10 minutes but keeps that ability for 1,500 charging cycles.

Quiz: How Much Do You Know About Wind Energy?

Wind energy is a big part of the mix of renewable energy sources. It brings to mind images of fields of giant windmills, but not a lot of detailed understanding. How good is your knowledge about our wind energy? Take this quiz to check it out.

Solid-State EV Batteries Project to Low Penetration in 2030

Although the automotive industry sees solid-state batteries as the next game-changer for EV driving range, performance and safety, the technology is projected to penetrate the...

EV Battery Recycling Still Being Defined

The efficient and economical recycling of EV batteries is not just possible, but inevitable, said a panel of battery-recycling experts at the 2023 Battery Show North America in Novi, MI, this...

Getting EV Battery Gigafactories Up to Speed

The term “gigafactory” has become common lexicon for a manufacturing facility constructed to produce the almost incalculable number of individual battery cells required for the millions of...

Leaders Optimistic North America Lithium Supply Gap Can be Eliminated

At the Battery Show North America, a panel of leaders addressed North America’s lithium supply challenges, and talked about signs that aggressive movement from...

2023 Battery Show North America Opens as Automakers, Suppliers Intensify Battery Investments

As the world’s major auto markets begin an inexorable shift to EVs and hybrid-electric vehicles (HEVs), any discussion of the engineering...

Zinc-Air Batteries: A Cheaper, Safer Alternative to Li-ion Batteries

Zinc-air batteries have emerged as a better alternative to lithium in a recent study into the advancement of sustainable battery systems.

Emerging Plasma FIB-SEM Techniques Advancing Battery Innovation

PFIB-SEM is a valuable technique that neatly complements other analytical and imaging methods, providing high-resolution 2D and 3D information for larger areas, as compared to traditional gallium FIB-SEM.

The Road to Net-Zero EV Development Labs

As the automotive sector continues to transition to a significant portion of their portfolio being electric, they must either build the needed test facilities to support this transition or update their current facilities.

GM Readies Fuel Cells for Commercial Deployment

After decades of concentrated development work, GM’s fuel-cell R&D unit Hydrotec is poised to deploy “the first applications that will be going commercial” of its hydrogen fuel-cell technology.

An Energy-Storing Concrete-Based Supercapacitor

Two of humanity’s most ubiquitous historical materials, cement, and carbon black may form the basis for a novel, low-cost energy storage system, according to a new study by MIT researchers.