Materials & Coatings

A Cheaper, Greener, More Efficient Alternative to Lithium-ion Batteries

It's time to rethink battery technology. Compared to other existing or developing technologies, a new lithium metal-based solid-state battery brings some significant advantages: It can be charged and discharged within one minute, lasts about 10 times as long as a Li-ion battery, and is insensitive to temperature fluctuations. Read on to learn more about it.

Stretchable, Flexible Biofuel Cell Runs on Sweat

A flexible and stretchable cell has been developed for wearable electronic devices that require a reliable and efficient energy source that can easily be integrated into the human body. Read on to learn more about it.

Next-Generation Batteries Incorporate Cells with Silicon Anodes

Researchers have developed better rechargeable batteries by applying silicon to the batteries’ cathodes. Read on to learn more about it.

Sustainable Technology Finalist: Cosmetic Silica Upcycled from Rice Husk as Natural Alternative to Microplastic Powders

Meet Dow Silicones Belgium SRL’s Anne-Marie Vincent, Sustainable Technology Finalist. Her project focuses on commercializing silica upcycled from rice husk to address these needs.

Manufacturing & Materials Finalist: RHOBARR™ Barrier Dispersions Platform

Meet Allyson Marianelli, Lead Researcher at Dow, whose RHOBARR™ Barrier Dispersions Platform is a Manufacturing & Materials Finalist.

Electronics Finalist: Thin-Film Thermoelectric Cooling Device

The wearable Thin-Film Thermoelectric Cooling (TFTEC) device is one of the world’s lightest, thinnest, and fastest refrigeration devices. It's also the Electronics Finalist. Read on to learn more.

Aerospace & Defense Finalist: Laser-Generated Anti-Icing and Anti-Fogging Transparent Materials

AlchLight has invented and pioneered a non-coating laser surface processing (LSP) technology that turns regular transparent materials such as glass and polymers superhydrophobic. It's the Aerospace & Defense Finalist. Read on to learn more.

Silicon Carbide Crystal Growing Industry Tests for Minute Defects

To meet the ever increasing demand for silicon carbide (SiC) crystals, the world needs much higher yields without sacrificing quality. However, without advanced metrology tools capable of promptly detecting minor flaws, the SiC crystal growing sector essentially operates blindly, resulting in unacceptable defects and costly product losses. Read on to learn more.

Can Optical Component Manufacturers Design Better Devices With AI?

Opto Generative Pretrained Transformer (OptoGPT), a decoder-only transformer, developed by University of Michigan engineers, harnesses the computer architecture underpinning ChatGPT to work backward from desired optical properties to the material structure that can provide them. Read on to learn more.

New Technology Uses Light to Engrave Erasable 3D Images

Imagine if physicians could capture 3D projections of medical scans, suspending them inside an acrylic cube to create a hand-held reproduction of a patient’s heart, brain, kidneys, or other organs. Then, when the visit is done, a quick blast of heat erases the projection, and the cube is ready for the next scan. A new report by researchers at Dartmouth and Southern Methodist University outlines a technical breakthrough that could enable such scenarios, and others, with widespread utility. Read on to learn more.

Robots with Artificial Muscles that Can Walk and Jump

Inspired by living creatures, they jump across different terrains in an agile and energy-efficient manner. Read on to learn more.

Hexagonal Electrohydraulic Modules Shape-Shift into Versatile Robots

Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems (MPI-IS) have developed hexagon-shaped robotic components, called modules, that can be snapped together...

Computer Simulations for Better Solar Cells

Perovskite materials may degrade quickly, and in order to know how best to apply these materials, a deeper understanding is required of why this happens and how the material functions. Researchers have gained new insights into the matter. Read on to learn more.

All-Electric, High-Heat Thermochemical Reactor

Professor Jonathan Fan and his team at Stanford Engineering have designed and demonstrated a new type of thermochemical reactor that can generate the immense amounts of heat required for many industrial processes by using electricity instead of burning fossil fuels.

Pure Lithium Bets on Vanadium Cathodes to Save U.S. Battery Independence

Continuing a common theme among some presenters at The Battery Show North America, Emilie Bodoin, the CEO and Co-Founder of Pure Lithium, which is betting on lithium...

Factorial’s Solid-State B-Samples Send a Message

Earlier this year, Factorial Energy CEO Siyu Huang told SAE Media her company was “very committed” to bringing solid-state battery technology to the market sooner than basically anyone...

Battery Analysis Pioneer: North America Has Five Years to Catch China

North American automakers and EV battery firms have five years to erase China’s dominance in technology and manufacturing or they may face the reality of buying...

Tech Focus: Freudenberg Sealing Technologies Showcases Battery Life Cycle Solutions

Global sealing supplier Freudenberg Sealing Technologies is showcasing its automotive battery life cycle solutions — including three new innovations —...

New Fluids Coming for EV Thermal Management

Managing the heating and cooling of electric vehicle propulsion systems may seem to be an easy task compared with combustion engines. After all, ICEs run much hotter — the thermal optimum for a...

The Battery Show North America 2024: What to Expect

There is a not-so-hidden message in the venue change The Battery Show North America needed to make for its 2024 event. The show is moving to a larger location — Detroit’s Huntington...

Product Focus: Rinco Launches New Ultrasonic Servo-Driven Wire Splicer

Rinco Ultrasonics, a global manufacturer of ultrasonic welding equipment, has expanded its position in ultrasonic metal welding with the launch of the Ultrasonic Servo...

Solving The Doping Problem: Enhancing Performance in Organic Semiconductors

Physicists at the University of Cambridge Cavendish Laboratory have discovered two new ways to improve organic semiconductors by removing more electrons from the...

Products of Tomorrow

See the products of tomorrow, including a new technology developed by KAUST that can help researchers consistently extract liters of water out of thin air each day without needing regular manual maintenance; a motion sensor so precise it could minimize the nation’s reliance on global positioning satellites; and an inexpensive bandage that uses an electric field to promote healing in chronic wounds.

A New Hydrogel to Regrow Damaged Heart Tissue

University of Waterloo Chemical Engineering Researcher Dr. Elisabeth Prince teamed up with researchers from the University of Toronto and Duke University to design the synthetic material made using cellulose nanocrystals, which are derived from wood pulp. The material is engineered to replicate the fibrous nanostructures and properties of human tissues. Read on to learn more.

HYPERFIRE: A Sub-Scale Non-Reacting Flow Test System

Engineers at NASAs Stennis Space Center have developed the HYdrocarbon Propellants Enabling Reproduction of Flows in Rocket Engines (HYPERFIRE), a sub-scale, non-reacting flow test system. HYPERFIRE uses heated ethane to enable physical simulation of rocket engines powered by a broad range of propellants in an inexpensive, accurate, and simple fashion. Read on to learn more.

Molecular Highway for Electrons in OLEDs

Now, a team from the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research has developed a new material concept that could allow efficient blue OLEDs with a strongly simplified structure. Read on to learn more.

Smaller Skin-Like Stretchable Electronics for Wearables

Researchers at Stanford have been working on skin-like, stretchable electronic devices for over a decade. Recently, they presented a new design and fabrication process for skin-like integrated circuits that are five times smaller and operate at one thousand times higher speeds than earlier versions. Read on to learn more about it.