Batteries
Originally created on November 09 2007
update [~jan~~13~]
The revolutions (see ultracapacitors also) under way in battery storage technology is changing the way we conceive and feed our energy needs, whether you look at announced performance in Lithium-ion technologies or the more esoteric claims in the field of ultracapacitators, we may be able to rethink power generation to meet our sailing needs as well as creature comforts that for many of us take a second if not third seat after those power hungry extra equipments we hesitate to use or bring on board.
Altair Nanotechnologies has been one of the most exciting developments in the Li-ion crop, perhaps more so today as real products are being shipped with seemingly the announced performance. The technology seems to be getting close to practical application with Phoenix Motors one of the 27 PEV and PHEV being introduced in 2008. Altair’s designers say that the key advantage of their battery is that it can in principle be recharged in an unprecedented 10 minutes. Making this a reality, however, depends on building out a network of high-voltage charging stations which will be easy for one of Phoenix Motor’s first customers Pacific, Gas & Electric as owns its grid.
Another remarkable product we are not thinking of integrating on board is Altair’ first pair of industrial 1-megawatt batteries (each about the size of a freight car) that have been designed to store excess electricity produced at night. The Virginia power utility AES plans to use the mega-batteries to warehouse power for use during peak consumption times. Forbes Magazine picked up on this as such batteries could help Altair offer 10-minute recharges for futuristic filling stations with similar massive batteries below ground, replacing the gasoline storage tanks of today.
For those preoccupied by the current worries concerning the stability of Li-ion batteries (thermal runaway) it appears that Altair’s technology avoids this to quote the Forbes article:
“The difference is material: When a battery operates or recharges, ions pass through the coating of the anode. Graphite isn’t very porous, so the ions literally deform the material as they force their way through.
“This builds up stress and over time the graphite cracks, leading to high resistance and short life,” says Altair Chief Executive Alan Gotscher. Altair’s nano-titanate coating, by contrast, has a large surface area. That means fewer ions try to force their way through at any given point, lowering resistance and minimizing damage.
By bypassing the graphite design, Altair also avoids dangerous overheating–or thermal runaway–that can plague large lithium ion batteries. Thermal runaway became a buzzword in 2006 when a Dell laptop computer spontaneously caught fire in a Japan office, an event captured on videotape and instantly shared via YouTube.
Gotscher says his nano-titanate battery lasts for 20,000 full recharge cycles. That’s about 20 years, four times the life span of a comparable NIMH or lithium ion battery.”
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