Envia's technology could potentially change all that, boosting EV range to as much as 300 miles, while cutting battery costs to between $125/kWh and $150/kWh. The company's engineers accomplished that by creating their own anode, cathode, and electrolyte. The anode is made from a silicon-carbon composite, while the cathode uses a high ratio of manganese, with lower percentages of cobalt and nickel. The use of manganese is said to be particularly interesting to automakers because it is inexpensive.
Envia's energy and cost numbers represent such a major jump that they are creating some skepticism in the battery community. At the same time, however, even the skeptics agree that Envia's credentials are impressive. Tests on the new technology were performed by the Electrochemical Power Systems Department at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, under ARPA-E's sponsorship. And the fledgling company has the backing of General Motors, which invested $7 million in its technology in 2010, as well as a $4 million grant from ARPA.
Battery experts contacted by Design News said they are taking a wait-and-see attitude on the technology.
"This is so much better than what is known to be working out there that it deserves a detailed explanation based on technical data," said one anonymous designer and expert. "If they have the data to back it up -- including the cycle life data -- then they've got something really good here."
Other experts said cycle life will be a key issue for the technology. Tests, they said, should involve high numbers of cycles at high depths of discharge, if the battery is to be fairly evaluated for automotive applications.
These last few years I've been using an electric bicycle for my daily commute and converted my lawn mower to solar (the idea of a green lawn mower just seemed obvious). The efficiency of motors and motor controllers have advanced to the point of being very well-suited for transportation but energy storage is still lagging. The promise of doubling the capacity of the current battery systems would place the energy storage at the same technological level as the power plant and make e-vehicles practical. I couldn't help but notice the very cautious tone of the article, though. There are lots of questions for the future; can the cell produce high drain and deep cycle life without damage, and can the manufacturing process sustain high production levels. This is a company to watch in the future.
Love to hear these tales of startups with a new low-cost, high-energy density battery story to tell. Given all the research and R&D dollars being poured into electric car battery research, my guess is we have to be nearing the point where a lot of the early disappointments either have evolved or are being replaced with new startups and technologies that are much closer to the mark of advancing the cause. Afterall, each failure or disappointment points up valuable lessons learned that can then be applied to the next round of developments that get battery density and cost closer to where we want to go.
This is good to hear. The technology is badly needed in our society. My sole question is: can our grid handle a large percentage of cars going electric? All around the USA I see a steady increase in the cost of electricity. Am I the only one that is itching to invest in solar and electric generation in general? Another application this can be put into is off the grid Energy storage. Off the grid Inverters are cheaper. Emergency power might act as secondary storage for the grid too. I honestly see the future grid requiring Grid-tie solar or wind systems to come with a certain rating of battery power. Eventually the grid will become too erratic for our slow turning turbines to match.
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A quick look into the merger of two powerhouse 3D printing OEMs and the new leader in rapid prototyping solutions, Stratasys. The industrial revolution is now led by 3D printing and engineers are given the opportunity to fully maximize their design capabilities, reduce their time-to-market and functionally test prototypes cheaper, faster and easier. Bruce Bradshaw, Director of Marketing in North America, will explore the large product offering and variety of materials that will help CAD designers articulate their product design with actual, physical prototypes. This broadcast will dive deep into technical information including application specific stories from real world customers and their experiences with 3D printing. 3D Printing is
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