Batteries and energy storage

DOE: Grid storage works, costs a 'red herring'

WALTHAM, Mass.--Five years ago, energy storage on the U.S. electric grid was almost nonexistent, but demonstration projects have shown that storage makes the grid more reliable and cleaner, according to a Department of Energy official.

Imre Gyuk, the program manager for energy storage research at the DOE, was the keynote speaker today at an IEEE conference on grid technologies where he said the grid storage industry is in the process of scaling up. Costs remain a barrier to putting more storage buffers onto the grid, but the question of costs may be a "red herring," he … Read more

Better Place recharges business model with GE

EV battery-swapper Better Place announced today it's partnering with General Electric to recharge its business model.

The GE partnership will augment Better Place stations by offering GE's WattStation charging service in addition to Better Place's existing battery-swapping service.

The WattStation is a Level 2 electric-vehicle charging station with 240-volt chargers compatible with any standard EV--similar to the Ecotality Blink station and Coulomb Technologies ChargePoint station.

A GE WattStation, depending on the car, can fully recharge an EV battery in as short as four hours, according to GE.

Better Place currently offers a subscription service in which members … Read more

GM eyeing ways to reuse Chevy Volt batteries

A new project from General Motors will examine ways that Chevy Volt batteries could get a second life helping provide renewable energy.

Joining forces with power grid supplier ABB Group, GM will study whether it can reuse batteries that formerly powered Volt electric cars to store energy created by wind and solar power generators. The goal is to find cost-effective and creative ways to improve the efficiency of the country's electrical grid, the automaker said today in a statement. The Volt, priced at $41,000 before a federal tax credit, is set to launch later this year.

Specifically, the … Read more

Grid storage gets updraft from auto batteries

The billions of dollars being plowed into electric vehicle battery manufacturing around the world is helping jump-start another clean-energy industry: storage on the electric grid.

Earlier this week, A123 Systems opened a plant in Livonia, Mich., to make lithium ion battery components and packs for hybrid and electric vehicles. Among the government officials at the event were state governor Jennifer Granholm and Energy Secretary Steven Chu, who called it a key step to restarting manufacturing in the U.S..

Ramping up lithium ion battery manufacturing by A123 Systems and other companies is projected to drive down the cost of batteries … Read more

IBM's new chip tech aimed at power management

IBM announced today it has developed a chipmaking process to incorporate both sensors and wireless radio frequency communications capability on a single computer chip.

The advancement could provide Big Blue's customers with an opportunity to develop products to better manage the power usage of "smart" buildings, transit systems, and "smart grids" in real-time.

The IBM CMOS-7HV technology could also be useful to small electronic devices with a battery, such as smartphones.

The company says its technology can cut production costs for manufacturers of small electronic devices by as much as 20 percent, by combining the … Read more

A123 cuts ribbon on Michigan EV battery plant

A123 Systems hosted an opening ceremony Monday for what it says will be the largest factory for manufacturing electric vehicle batteries in North America.

Workers at the plant in Livonia, Mich., will make battery components, including prismatic lithium-ion cells, and do final assembly of battery packs. A123 projects that the plant will add 600 megawatts-hours worth of battery production the first year and will ramp up to 760 megawatts hours by the end of 2011.

The opening, attended by Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, is part of a bid to bring large-scale battery manufacturing to the U.S. In addition to … Read more

GM Ventures invests in battery start-up Sakti3

General Motor's venture-capital arm has invested in battery company Sakti3, taking a stake for a second time in an electric vehicle oriented start-up.

GM Ventures and the venture arm of Japanese conglomerate Itochu have invested $4.2 million in the company, Sakti3 said Friday. GM Ventures invested $3.2 million, according to reports.

Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Sakti3 is developing next-generation lithium-ion batteries that are designed to be cheaper and extend electric vehicle driving range. Rather than using a liquid electrolyte like most rechargeable batteries today, Sakti3's batteries are solid-state devices, which would allow car batteries to hold … Read more

Focus EV to use liquid thermal battery control

Owners of the new Ford Focus Electric won't have to worry about going out to warm up the car before driving on a winter's day, the car will warm up its battery pack automatically if left plugged in.

Ford announced Thursday its Focus Electric, due out next year in the U.S., will contain a lithium ion battery pack with a liquid-based thermal management system.

In addition to keeping the car's battery within a preferred temperature range while engaged, the system also kicks in to cool or warm the car's battery pack as needed while it'… Read more

Motor City getting in on electric fever

Coulomb Technologies unveiled its latest electric-vehicle charging station on Thursday morning in Detroit.

The Motor City is the first locale in Michigan to get a charging station for public use as part of ChargePoint America, a $37 million program to install public and residential stations throughout the U.S. to encourage adoption of plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles.

ChargePoint is funded in part by U.S. Department of Energy as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Automakers Ford Motor, General Motors, and Smart USA are also partners on the project. The automakers have a vested interest in making … Read more

Philly subway to capture energy from braking trains

Here's an unusual way to upgrade a subway system: add a giant battery.

Viridity Energy said Monday that it has been awarded a $900,000 grant by the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority to build a system that will capture the energy from Philadelphia subway cars as they brake to enter a station.

The regenerative braking system will collect energy in a large battery installed along the busy Market-Frankford Line. The stored energy will be used to power trains when they leave the station and to earn money from energy sold back to the grid.

"Essentially we're creating … Read more