Volume 50 Number 8 ISSN: 001-8627 August 2014

Online at www.7ms.com

AROUND THE INDUSTRY

UC researchers create Li-ion that outperforms current industry by three times. From left, Mihrimah Ozkan, Cengiz Ozkan and Zachary Favors in the Ozkan’s lab. See story on page 18.

Arotech Announces Over $6 Million in Orders Arotech Corp.’s Battery and Power Systems Division has received $6.2 million in new orders. The orders are all for battery and related products for military applications. “Batteries for military applications have the most stringent requirements for safety and performance,” says Arotech’s chairman and chief executive officer, Robert S. Ehrlich. “Our continued sales growth is a testament to the outstanding performance of our products in the toughest of environments.” Arotech develops and produces high power zinc-air batteries and is believed to be the sole supplier of this technology to the U.S. military. In addition, Arotech develops high-end primary and secondary batteries and associated chargers, as well as hybrid power generation systems, smart power subsystems for military vehicles and dismounted applications, and aircraft and missile systems support for cutting-edge weapons and communications technologies. The battery and power systems division consists of Electric Fuel Battery Corp., Epsilor-Electric Fuel Ltd., and UEC Electronics, LLC.

USABC Awards $7.7 Million to Envia The U.S. Advanced Battery Consortium LLC (USABC), a collaborative organization operated by Chrysler Group LLC, Ford Motor Co. and General Motors, reports the award of a $7.7 million advanced battery technology development contract for electric vehicle applications to Envia Systems Inc. of Newark, California. The competitively bid contract award is co-funded by the U.S. DoE and includes a 50% Envia Systems cost-share. The 36-month Li-ion layered-layered cathode/silicon-based anode program will focus on the development of high-energy cathode and anode material appropriate for vehicle applications and the development and scale up of pouch cells that exhibit performance metrics that exceed the minimum USABC targets for electric vehicles. The new Envia Systems contract follows research previously conducted with USABC to develop advanced Li-ion battery technologies for electric vehicle applications. USABC is a subsidiary of the United States Council for Automotive Research LLC.

B&W PGG Acquires MEGTEC Babcock & Wilcox Power Generation Group Inc. (B&W PGG), a Charlotte, North Carolina-based subsidiary of the Babcock & Wilcox Co. (B&W) has completed the acquisition of MEGTEC, a De Pere, Wisconsin-headquartered industrial processes solutions provider, based on an enterprise value of $155 million, subject to adjustments. MEGTEC will operate as a subsidiary of B&W PGG under the trade name of Babcock & Wilcox MEGTEC (B&W MEGTEC). Its management team will continue with the company, and the company will continue to be headquartered in De Pere. B&W MEGTEC employs approximately 600 people in the U.S., Canada, France, Italy, Sweden, Germany, the U.K., China, India and Australia. The company designs, engineers, manufactures and services sophisticated air pollution control systems and coating and drying equipment for the industrial sector.

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B&W MEGTEC’s environmental solutions products include oxidizers, energy recovery systems, solvent recovery systems, distillation systems, scrubbers, wet electrostatic precipitators (wet ESP) and other equipment for industrial applications. Its engineered products include integrated custom coating and drying technologies with applications from digital printing to energy storage. B&W MEGTEC also provides aftermarket services, including equipment upgrades, process energy optimization, rebuilds and parts for equipment, as well as preventive maintenance.

Panasonic, Tesla Sign Agreement for the Gigafactory Panasonic Corp. and Tesla Motors Inc. have signed an agreement that lays out their cooperation on the construction of a large-scale battery manufacturing plant in the U.S., known as the Gigafactory. According to the agreement, Tesla will prepare, provide and manage the land, buildings and utilities. Panasonic will manufacture and supply cylindrical Li-ion cells and invest in the associated equipment, machinery, and other manufacturing tools based on their mutual approval. A network of supplier partners is planned to produce the required precursor materials. Tesla will take the cells and other components to assemble battery modules and packs. To meet the projected demand for cells, Tesla will continue to purchase battery cells produced in Panasonic’s factories in Japan. Tesla and Panasonic will continue to discuss the details of implementation including sales, operations and investment.

The Gigafactory is being created to enable a continuous reduction in the cost of long range battery packs in parallel with manufacturing at the volumes required to enable Tesla to meet its goal of advancing mass market electric vehicles. The Gigafactory will be managed by Tesla with Panasonic joining as the principal partner responsible for Li-ion battery cells and occupying approximately half of the planned manufacturing space; key suppliers combined with Tesla’s module and pack assembly will comprise the other half of this fully integrated industrial complex. Saft Awarded Contract from Gulfstream Aerospace Saft has been awarded two exclusive multi-year, multi-million-dollar supply contracts by Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. Under the agreement, Saft will deliver Ultra Low Maintenance (ULM®) technology batteries to Gulfstream Aerospace for two business jets, the Gulfstream G650® and Gulfstream G550®.

Saft will continue to supply its 5317CH-1, 21-cell CVH530KA ULM battery. The 5317CH-1 battery has proven successful since the aircraft’s certification in 1997. Since the technology was introduced in the Gulfstream GV, most new commercial and military aircraft have been developed and certified powered by Saft’s ULM batteries. Saft’s 5317CH-1 ULM technology battery reduces operating costs by significantly increasing the time between maintenance. The ULM battery will provide start APU, emergency power, power avionics, backup power for flight controls and has the ability to fill in electrical system loads as needed. The battery provides 25.2V of power and has a capacity of 53Ah.

Bosch to Bring Utility Turnkey Systems to N. America Bosch is bringing its German-engineered energy storage solution to the North American market to help customers better integrate renewables, lower utility bills, and supply higher quality power.

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Fuel Cells: The Power to Drive Change TODAY November 10 – 13, 2014

Westin Bonaventure Downtown Los Angeles, California

Early Bird Registration is open through August 30, 2014.

The annual Fuel Cell Seminar & Energy Exposition is the premier international gathering of the Fuel Cell & Hydrogen Energy industries and their customers and stakeholders. This prestigious conference has hosted participants and exhibitors from around the globe for more than 35 years. Over a four day span, the conference hosts 1,000+ attendees and features more than 200 presentations from around the world.

Featured activities will include world class Plenary Sessions and Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Presentation Tracks, Educational Short Courses and Workshops, a California “Industry and Research Facilities Tour,” a Ride & Drive event and two networking receptions!

Online registration is open through November 7, 2014. For more information, please visit:

www.FuelCellSeminar.com

@FuelCellSeminar find us on @FuelCellSeminar

In mid-July, a custom-made hybrid system comprising two high-performance battery types began to store excess electricity generated at a community wind farm in Braderup, Germany. Bosch is supplying the project with a compound battery made of Li-ion and vanadium redox flow components, along with the complete system controls. This compound battery will store electrical energy when power grids on the windy coast are overloaded and cannot transport any more electricity. The storage system enables windpower to feed into the grid at all times – regardless of the wind’s intensity. If too much wind power is generated, the hybrid storage system absorbs the excess and feeds it into the grid when too little is generated. Situated on former farmland, the storage facility will have a total output of 2,325kW and a total capacity of 3,000kWh. Bosch’s advanced energy storage system is now available in the U.S. market to meet the needs of commercial and utility customers.

BYD Signs Contract for Brazilian Battery Factory BYD Company Ltd.’s Wang Chuanfu recently signed a contract to be the first Chinese manufacturer to open a battery factory in Brazil. Present at the event were Xi Jinping, the President of China, and Dilma Rousseff, the President of Brazil, whom were already together for the BRIC Summit in Brasilia. The deal to build a factory in which BYD will produce their fire safe and completely recyclable Iron-Phosphate Batteries will bring BYD’s investment in Brazil up to $400,000,000. The batteries will be manufactured in an area of 1,500,000 square meters, and support BYD’s growing new energy business throughout Latin and South America. The deal was structured through Apex-Brasil, the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency. This news follows a recent announcement of a project that BYD announced in the city of Campinas, Brazil. The

Campinas factory is being opened to manufacture BYD’s long range pure electric transit bus. The factory will also serve as a research and development facility for a number of BYD’s other renewable energy technologies.

Milpower Source Provides Battery for Field Artillery Officials of the Army Contracting Command at Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey, recently announced a $6.7 million contract to Milpower Source in Belmont, New Hampshire, for portable universal battery power electronics systems for the M119A3 howitzer. The company will provide its M793 series high density 6.6kW NiCad battery input single output DC-DC converters for the job. This contract for artillery portable universal battery systems (APUBS) will support the M119A3 digitization effort. The M119A3 is a modernized version of the M119 105-millimeter towed howitzer with digital fire control and an inertial navigation system for self location. The Milpower Source APUBS is mounted off the M119A3 artillery carriage and connects to external power sources such as its towing vehicle to charge eight internal BB-2590/U type batteries. The APUBS also provides uninterrupted power to the artillery’s digital fire control systems via the artillery power distribution assembly (APDA). The power filters through the DC-to-DC power components of the Milpower Source M793 series power system, which charge the batteries, provide filtered uninterrupted power to the power-distribution system, monitor power output for short-circuits, and provide an audio and visual warning for low battery status.

Eguana to Power Vanadium Redox Flow Battery Eguana Technologies of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, reports that one of the leading U.S. developers of next generation Vanadium redox flow batteries has selected Eguana’s Bi-Direx for ongoing battery system development and demonstration of its energy storage system. The development contract targets a commercially available product in 2015 for firming (reducing variability) the output of solar power plants. “Our design philosophy is to deliver a universal power management platform that is easily adapted to all the leading battery technologies, allowing battery manufacturers to offer complete energy storage systems, and/or operators of distributed energy storage fleets to easily accommodate different battery technologies using a common control and communications platform,” says Brent Harris, chief technical officer of Eguana.

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Eguana’s Bi-Direx technology provides the critical power management needed to deal with the high currents associated with flow batteries with the industry’s highest power conversion efficiencies. Eguana is already supplying a Fortune 500 technology company with the power management functionality for a commercially available energy management system using zinc bromide flow battery technologies in power ratings ranging from 10kW to 100kW.

Snohomish PUD Matches State Clean Energy Fund Washington State’s Snohomish County Public Utility District (PUD) will receive $7.3 million in matching funds from the Washington Clean Energy Fund. Using the funding, the PUD will implement a comprehensive program of energy storage and controls integration. The PUD and its principal partner, 1Energy Systems, a Seattle-based company, are building the energy storage systems based on the Modular Energy Storage Architecture (MESA), which provides a standard, scalable approach to energy storage. The PUD’s energy storage program, which forges partnerships with major U.S. and international business partners, will include two large-scale Li-ion batteries, one built by LG Chem and a second by Mitsubishi-GS Yuasa. Both Li-ion batteries will utilize a Parker Hannifin Power conversion system. Additionally, the PUD will deploy multiple advanced vanadium flow batteries, which will be built by UniEnergy Technologies, based in Mukilteo, Washington.

Researchers Develop New Battery Technology A University of Central Florida spinoff company is at the forefront of perfecting specialized nanotechnology designed to extend the longevity of batteries and superconductors. HyCarb, led by Sigrid Cottrell, recently signed an exclusive license agreement with UCF for a patented and patent-pending carbon nanotube material, developed by UCF nanotechnology researcher Lei Zhai and his team. “Energy storage in the form of batteries and supercapacitors is the initial application of the licensed technology,” explains Cottrel. “The next applications involve creating leading-edge sensors, catalysts, filters and transistors.” HyCarb is in the process of applying for Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants, citing the licensed technology as a key component in the creation of energy storage and advanced sensor prototypes for government agencies.

Upon successful completion of Phase I and Phase II SBIR grants, HyCarb will work with prime contractors to supply various federal agencies with state-of-the-art energy storage devices and sensors to detect hazardous materials.

India Considers $2.5 Billion Subsidy for EV/HEVs The Indian government is considering a financial incentive scheme worth Rs 14,000 crore ($2.5 billion) for hybrid and electric cars. The subsidy would be proportioned to the difference of the price of a car running on fossil fuel and that of a hybrid or electric car. A news report claims that the Ministry of Heavy Industries has floated a proposal to the Ministry of Finance that pure electric cars be offered a subsidy of 35%, and plug-in electric cars that can drive at least 15 km on single charge be offered a subsidy of 25%. Mild hybrid cars and strong hybrid cars would attract a subsidy of 15% and 25% respectively. The government would deliver the subsidies to the car manufacturers, the benefits of which would be passed on to the end customers. Currently, among hybrid cars Scorpio, Prius and Camry are available in India.

The $2.5 billion subsidy to be offered to the auto industry until 2020 would help the country save about $11 billion on fuel costs. India imports a large amount of auto fuel, and the price of petrol and diesel has been the source of political and economic contention for years now. The government provides billions of dollars in fuel subsidies every year to oil marketing companies that have been selling petrol and diesel at a loss for years.

BMW Boosts Battery Supplies on EV Plans Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW) agreed to spend billions of euros increasing its orders of Samsung SDI Co. batteries as the world’s largest maker of luxury cars expands its line of electric vehicles. BMW is planning to increase its purchases of SDI battery cells for the electric i3 city car and the plug-in hybrid i8 sports car as well as for additional hybrid models in the coming years, the Munich-based carmaker said today in a statement. BMW assembles the cells into batteries at a facility in Dingolfing, Germany. “The battery is a key component in every electric vehicle – since it basically determines the range and performance capabilities of the car,” Klaus Draeger, BMW’s purchasing chief, says. The deal paves the way for BMW to secure supply of batteries – the most expensive part of an electric vehicle – as it rolls out the i8 and i3. For Samsung SDI, which supplies batteries to Apple Inc., the order builds on the company’s plans to expand its automotive business months after agreeing to acquire Cheil Industries Inc. for $3.4 billion to add its chemicals and materials expertise.

Avista Testing Renewable Energy Storage Batteries Avista Corp. of Spokane, Washington, will use a $3.2 million state grant to test how effectively large batteries store energy from wind, solar and other renewable sources, reports The Spokesman-Review. The three-year demonstration will occur at a Pullman substation, with a battery-storage system built by UniEnergy Technologies of Mukilteo, Washington. The battery system should be able to store enough electricity to power 100 to 120 homes for up to three hours. If the project is successful, Avista could ramp up the number of batteries in use, reports Laurine Jue, a company spokeswoman. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and the state Department of Commerce recently announced the grant to Avista as part of $14 million in funds to help integrate renewable energy into the state’s electrical grid. Avista will contribute slightly more than the value of the grant to the battery testing project, reports vice president of energy Don Kopczynski. The battery will arrive in Pullman before the end of the year. After design work and preliminary tests, full-scale testing will begin in about 18 months. Researchers from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), where the battery technology was developed, will work with Avista on the project, analyzing data from the tests.

Flexible, Printed Batteries for Wearable Devices A California startup is developing flexible, rechargeable batteries that can be printed cheaply on commonly used industrial screen printers. Imprint Energy of Alameda, California, has been testing its ultra-thin zinc-polymer batteries in wrist-worn devices and hopes to sell them to manufacturers of wearable electronics, medical devices, smart labels, and environmental sensors. The company’s approach is meant to make the batteries safe for on-body applications, while their small size and flexibility will allow for product designs that would have been impossible with bulkier lithium-based batteries.

Even in small formats, the batteries can deliver enough current for low-power wireless communications sensors, distinguishing them from other types of thin batteries. The batteries are based on research that company cofounder Christine Ho began as a graduate student at the University of California, Berkeley, where she collaborated with a researcher in Japan to produce microscopic zinc batteries using a 3-D printer.

Shaffer Becomes EnerSys President and COO John D. Craig of EnerSys has announced that he will be stepping down from his position of president effective November 1, but will remain with the company as chairman and chief executive officer. With this move, Dave M. Shaffer has been appointed to the newly created position of president and chief operating officer. Shaffer is currently serving as president of the company’s Europe, Middle East and Africa business and prior to that was president of the company’s Asia business. Shaffer will continue to report to Craig. “Dave is an experienced executive recognized for his accomplishments at EnerSys. I want to congratulate him

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19 PRiME, Honolulu, Hawaii: Meeting Highlights

58 Tech Highlights

61 Conducting Polymers and Their Applications

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67 Nanoparticle-doped Electrically-conducting Polymers for Flexible Nano-Micro Systems

71 Electrochemical Assay of GSTP1-related DNA Sequence for Prostrate Cancer Screening

88 ECS Summer Fellowship Reports

107 San Francisco, CA: Call for Papers

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on his new position and look forward to continuing to work with him,” states Craig, “As EnerSys continues to grow towards our goal of $4 billion in revenue by 2018, this new position is one more element that will help ensure we achieve this objective.” Shaffer, who has over 24 years experience in the battery industry, joined EnerSys in 2005 and has held positions of increasing responsibilities with the company. He holds a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois and an MBA from Marquette University.

PSE&G Promotes Electric Vehicles Public Service Electric & Gas reports a program to provide up to 150 free electric car charging stations to businesses in New Jersey, hoping to accelerate the plug-in car market that has been slowed by high prices and range issues.

Part promotion, part industry education and part research-gathering, PSE&G will spend $400,000 on “smart” charging stations which will collect data to understand the impact of workplace charging on electric demand and delivery, says Jess Melanson, the utility’s director of energy services. “Transportation is the next frontier in greenhouse gas reduction,” he says. “As electric vehicles become more mainstream, we’re going to be the fuel provider.” In what PSE&G is calling the first incentive program of its kind, the utility will provide the charging stations to companies in exchange for a two-year commitment from each business to have at least five employees commute to work in their electric vehicle. The cost of the two-year pilot program will be absorbed by PSE&G shareholders, not its 2.1 million customers, officials say. Participating businesses, which must be

PSE&G customers, will pay to install the charging units and pay for the electricity.

Toyota Researching Solid State Batteries for EVs Japan’s Toyota sees lithium-air batteries as the solution to EV range anxiety, but in the interim, solid-state lithium-ion batteries could be a stepping stone towards longer-range batteries. Charged EVs reports that Toyota has already developed a prototype solid-state battery with an energy density of 400Wh/L, which is less than half the density of lithium-air batteries, but still better than current lithium-ion batteries. Solid-state batteries also do away with the liquid chemical solution batteries currently rely on, replacing them with a solid electrolyte between the cathode and anode. The design also allows for battery packs that eliminate the space between individual cells, packing more power into a smaller package. These solid state batteries are also supposed to have a longer lifespan, which means less concern about the longevity of electric drivetrains. Toyota has only installed a solid-state lithium-ion battery on an electric scooter, though they say by 2020 these batteries could be ready for the road.

Albemarle to Buy Lithium Producer Rockwood Albemarle Corp. of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, has agreed to pay $6.2 billion in cash and stock for Rockwood Holdings Inc. of Princeton, New Jersey, the world’s largest producer of lithium products, which are increasingly in demand for batteries used in electric cars. The Albemarle deal is the latest example of consolidation in the highly concentrated lithium industry, in which four companies including Rockwood control most of the output. In 2012, China’s Chengdu Tianqi Industry Group Co. agreed to buy Australia’s Talison Lithium Ltd., owner of the world’s largest open-pit lithium mine. Chengdu later agreed to sell a stake in the mine to Rockwood, which had unsuccessfully bid for Talison. “Our complementary specialty chemicals portfolios are expected to generate significant growth through the continued penetration of lithium-based energy storage products, compelling secular trends driving global catalyst growth, attractive surface treatment prospects and new bromine applications,” says Robert J. Zatta, Rockwood’s chief executive officer.

Longer Lasting, Thinner Smartphone Batteries Paper Battery of Troy, New York, has developed its own ultracapacitor batteries, which have earned the

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U.S. BATTERY ANDFUEL CELL PATENTS

Compiled by Eddie T. Seoemail: seoeddie@gmail.com

Littleton, CO

Official Gazette, Vol 1403 (June 2014)

U.S. 8,740,998 (20140603), Method for forming low-resistance electric connection points for a battery cell with two external nickel electrode terminals, Donald P. H. Wu, Energy Control Ltd. (VG). U.S. 8,740,999 (20140603), Method and apparatus for fuel cell stack assembly, Kevin B Rober, Gary L Jones, Yhu-Tin Lin, and James W. Wells, GM Global Technology Operations LLC. U.S. 8,741,150 (20140603), Lithium recovery device using separator reservoir, lithium recovery method and lithium adsorption/desorption system using the same, Kang-Sup Chung, Jae-Chun Lee, and Hwan Lee, Korea Institute of Geosciences and Mineral Resources (KR). U.S. 8,741,172 (20140603), Lithium-titanium complex oxide and manufacturing method thereof, and battery electrode using same, Daigo Ito, Chie Kawamura, Masaki Mochigi, and Toshimasa Suzuki, Taiyo Yuden Co., Ltd. (JP). U.S. 8,741,254 (20140603), Method of preparing bundle type silicon nanorod composite through electroless etching process using metal ions and anode active material for lithium secondary cells comprising the same, Joong Kee Lee, Byung Won Cho, Joo Man Woo, Hyung Sun Kim, Kyung Yoon Chung, Won Young Chang, Sang Ok Kim, and Sang Eun Park, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KR). U.S. 8,741,425 (20140603), All ceramics solid oxide fuel cell, Peter Halvor Larsen, Technical University of Denmark (DK). U.S. 8,741,452 (20140603), Secondary battery, Bongyoung Kim, Samsung SDI Co., Ltd. (KR). U.S. 8,741,453 (20140603), Current interrupting device and secondary battery including current interrupting device, Kyounghan Kim, Moonhong Han, Junsun Yong, Seongdae Ji, Cheolwoo Shim, Kwangchun Kim, and Jeongman Park, Samsung SDI Co., Ltd. (KR). U.S. 8,741,454 (20140603), Proton exchange membrane for fuel cell, John Muldoon, Ryszard J. Wycisk, and Peter N. Pintauro, Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc and Case Western Reserve University. U.S. 8,741,455 (20140603), Sodium ion based aqueous electrolyte electrochemical secondary energy storage device, Jay Whitacre, Carnegie Mellon University. U.S. 8,741,456 (20140603), Battery temperature control apparatus and battery temperature control method, Kazunari Tezuka and Mitsunori Ishii, NEC Corp. (JP). U.S. 8,741,457 (20140603), Rechargeable lithium batteries comprising means for the sorption of harmful substances in the form of a multilayer polymeric sheet, Luca Toia, Johnny Mio Bertolo, Giorgio Longoni, and Marco Amiotti, SAES Getters SpA (IT). U.S. 8,741,458 (20140603), Battery with over-pressure protection, Stephen Gregory Berman, JAKKS Pacific, Inc. U.S. 8,741,459 (20140603), State judging device and control device of secondary battery, Motoyoshi Okumura and Katsunori Maegawa, Panasonic EV Energy Co., Ltd. (JP). U.S. 8,741,460 (20140603), Lithium ion secondary battery, Masato Kamiya and Taira Saito, Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (JP). U.S. 8,741,461 (20140603), Battery pack having waterproof

company $3 million in funding from Caerus Ventures to further develop its patented technology. The PowerPatch battery measures just 0.4mm thin. It could be used for “cloud computing and mobile applications such as wearable electronics and smartphones and tablets,” and the newly raised funds will be used to create batteries for such devices. The first commercial PowerPatch batteries should be available next year. The company also says that the ultracapacitor uses eco-friendly technology, as the battery is composed of “high surface area activated carbon, carbon nanotubes or graphene,” while “paper or other porous polymer separators” can hold the electrolyte and separate electrodes.

Organic Cotton Battery to Revolutionize EVs Japanese battery producer PowerJapan Plus and Japanese auto racing group Team Taisan have declared a collaboration to create an electric car battery with quicker

charging times, extended capacity, longer range, greater number of charge-discharge cycles and less volatility than conventional Li-ion EV batteries. Although PowerJapan Plus recently referred to 10 years of lab development for the battery on its website, the company has remained guarded about its groundbreaking technology. The company’s website page about the Ryden Dual Carbon Battery states that it utilizes both a carbon anode and carbon cathode produced using modified carbon fibers. (Ryden is a homophone of “Raijin,” a Shinto god of lightning, thunder, and storms.) The Ryden battery can charge 20 times faster than Li-ion batteries. It has over 3,000 charge and discharge cycles, making it extremely dependable. It’s easy to manufacture and doesn’t use any rare metals in the making. The Ryden battery is extremely safe and runs at a steady temperature, reducing the risk of fire and explosion hazards. Finally, the battery is 100% recyclable.

LG Chem Says 200-Mile EV Battery Coming in 2016 South Korean battery giant LG Chem will supply at least one major automaker in 2016 with Li-ion batteries to power an electric car with 200 miles of range or more, the company’s chief financial officer told the Reuters news service. The executive did not disclose which automaker would get the second-generation batteries. But General Motors (GM) executives have said that the automaker is working on an EV that will deliver at least 200 miles of range. The automaker, manufacturer of the Chevrolet Volt, has said it hopes to have the longer-range EV in the market in 2016 to compete with the anticipated Tesla Model III, now scheduled for introduction in late 2016 or early 2017. LG Chem presently supplies Li-ion batteries to GM, Ford, Hyundai, Kia, Volvo and Renault. Doug Parks, GM’s vice president for product development, said in an interview last year that General Motors plans to offer an EV with at least 200 miles of range for a price of around $30,000. That’s the target which all of the major automakers are aiming at for their next-generation electric vehicles, he says.

Lifetime Rebuildable Battery Electric vehicle (EV) technology developer NTS Works of Santa Cruz, California, has created a small powerful battery that can be rebuilt and upgraded for half the cost of a new replacement battery. With the NTS Works Lifetime Rebuildable Battery technology, the battery can be easily rebuilt and upgraded with standard sized Li-ion cells. The U.S. Patent Office has granted NTS Works Inc. a patent on the technology; additional patents are pending. Several other companies are in negotiations to license the technology which may make it available in products ranging from portable power supplies to electric buses. NTS Works is showcasing the technology in a lightweight electric bicycle called the Fat Free. At the core of the Lifetime Rebuildable Battery are high energy density Li-ion cells that are made to an industry standard size, similar to the ones used in Tesla electric cars, and can be scaled up to power vehicles as big as a bus. NTS Works is in partnership with Samsung Electronics for the supply of these new, small and powerful cells. These new cells exceed all safety standards by a large margin. Having a standard-sized cell that is easy to replace also means that when newer higher energy cells come out, approximately every 18 months, it’s easy to upgrade. The Lifetime Rebuildable Battery technology also helps to cool the battery. Even moderate heat levels cause up to a 50% reduction in battery lifespan. Copper heat conductors built

into the Lifetime Rebuildable Battery technology help to cool the Li-ion cells which helps to ensure a full lifespan. Large capacity EV battery packs are prone to having one or two bad cells. The Lifetime Rebuildable Battery technology facilitates thermal monitoring of every cell in the pack. Any bad cell can be identified and replaced in minutes.

MEETING REPORT

2014 Power Sources ConferenceOrlando Wyndham Resort

Orlando, FloridaJune 9-12, 2014

By Dr. Robert HamlenPower Sources Conference Chairman

(Formerly Chief, Power Division, US Army CERDEC)Holmdel, New Jersey

The 46th Power Sources Conference was held at the Wyndham Orlando Resort on International Drive in Orlando, Florida from June 9-12. This conference series was started in 1947 at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, initially being held every year, and after 1970 every other year. It serves as a forum where those involved with military portable and mobile power sources meet to discuss new products and future product developments. This year there were 47 exhibitors and about 400 attendees. There were 30 speaking sessions with about 4 speakers in each, covering various aspects of batteries, fuel cells, supercapacitors, small engines and alternative energy generation. The featured luncheon speaker, who presented an overview of the energy picture for the next 20 years, was Rob Gardner. He is the manager of the economics & energy division of the Corporate Strategic Planning Department for Exxon Mobil Corp. The next Power Sources Conference will be held in June of 2016. Continue to check www.PowerSourcesConference.com for further information as it becomes available.

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structure, Haruhiko Yoneda, Masami Haino, Hironori Ogura, and Toru Yamada, SANYO Electric Co., Ltd. (JP) and Makita Corp. (JP). U.S. 8,741,463 (20140603), Fuel cell, Haruyuki Nakanishi, Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (JP). U.S. 8,741,466 (20140603), Conduction and convection cooled energy storage system, Daniel J. Youngs, Kurt Biehl, Edward Bass, Eric D. Schneider, Felice E. Bailey, Steven T. Reyburn, Dean M. Ford, Richard Bletsis, Markus Naegeli, and Jerry Wendling, Allison Transmission, Inc. U.S. 8,741,467 (20140603), Battery packs suitable for use with battery powered appliances, Kazuyuki Sakakibara, Makita Corp. (JP). U.S. 8,741,468 (20140603), Film-packaged electric device, Masatomo Mizuta and Shunji Noda, NEC Corp. (JP). U.S. 8,741,469 (20140603), Electrode assembly with multiple separators wound about a winding center, Changbeom Ahn, Jeongsoon Shin, and Youngbae Sohn, Samsung SDI Co., Ltd. (KR). U.S. 8,741,470 (20140603), Electrochemical device having different kinds of separators, Jong-Hun Kim, Hyun-Min Jang, Jang-Hyuk Hong, Joon-Yong Sohn, and Sang-Young Lee, LG Chem, Ltd. (KR). U.S. 8,741,471 (20140603), Battery pack, Sang-Hun Park and Dea-Yon Moon, Samsung SDI Co., Ltd. (KR). U.S. 8,741,472 (20140603), Electric storage device, Takatoshi Yamamoto and Masahiro Kaneshige, Hitachi Vehicle Energy, Ltd. (JP). U.S. 8,741,473 (20140603), Pouch-type lithium secondary battery, Ho-Chun Lee, Jeong-Ju Cho, and Jong-Ho Jeon, LG Chem, Ltd. (KR). U.S. 8,741,474 (20140603), Battery assembly, Steven G. Melnyk, Scott D. Bublitz, and Chris Conrad, Milwaukee Electric Tool Corp. U.S. 8,741,475 (20140603), Secondary battery, Dukjung Kim and Jongseok Moon, Samsung SDI Co., Ltd. (KR) and Robert Bosch GmbH (DE). U.S. 8,741,476 (20140603), Rechargeable battery having an electrolyte injection opening sealing cap, Sung-Bae Kim, Yong-Sam Kim, and Dae-Won Han, Samsung SDI Co., Ltd. (KR). U.S. 8,741,477 (20140603), Bipolar secondary battery with seal members, Motoharu Obika, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. (JP). U.S. 8,741,478 (20140603), Pouch-type rechargeable battery and its method of manufacture, Kwangsup Kim, Samsung SDI Co., Ltd. (KR). U.S. 8,741,479 (20140603), Electrolyte for lithium secondary battery and lithium secondary battery including the same, Yoon-sok Kang, Jun-young Mun, Min-sik Park, Jin-hwan Park, and Mi-jeong Song, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (KR). U.S. 8,741,480 (20140603), Non-aqueous secondary battery comprising a polyvalent organic lithium salt, Akira Yano and Katsunori Kojima, Hitachi Maxell, Ltd. (JP). U.S. 8,741,481 (20140603), Anode and battery, Takayuki Fujii, Kenichi Kawase, Hideki Nakai, Rikako Imoto, and Kensuke Yamamoto, Sony Corp. (JP). U.S. 8,741,482 (20140603), Mixed cathode active material having improved power characteristics and lithium secondary battery including the same, Jung Hwan Park, Song Taek Oh, Geun Chang Chung, Min Hee Lee, and Juichi Arai, LG Chem, Ltd. (KR). U.S. 8,741,483 (20140603), Positive electrode active material for non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery having rare earth hydroxide and/or oxyhydroxide, Takeshi Ogasawara and Naoki Imachi, SANYO Electric Co., Ltd. (JP). U.S. 8,741,484 (20140603), Doped positive electrode active materials and lithium ion secondary battery constructed therefrom, Deepak Kumaar Kandasamy Karthikeyan, Subramaninan Venkatachalam, Shabab Amiruddin, Herman A. Lopez, and Sujeet Kumar, Envia Systems, Inc. U.S. 8,741,485 (20140603), Layer-layer lithium rich complex metal oxides with high specific capacity and excellent cycling,

Herman A. Lopez, Subramanian Venkatachalam, Deepak Kumaar Kandasamy Karthikeyan, and Sujeet Kumar, Envia Systems, Inc. U.S. 8,741,486 (20140603), Polymer matrix energy storage device and method of making the same, Alan Jacobsen, Ping Liu, Kevin W. Kirby, and Elena Sherman, HRL Laboratories, LLC. U.S. 8,741,487 (20140603), Electrode current collector with stress-relieving mesh structure, John C. Duggan, Michael R. Blendowski, Donald F. Kaiser, and Ashish Shah, Greatbatch Ltd. U.S. 8,741,488 (20140603), Electrode including Si-containing material layer and porous film, and lithium battery employing the same, Jin-Hee Kim, Won-Chull Han, and Jae- Yun Min, Samsung SDI Co., Ltd. (KR). U.S. 8,741,489 (20140603), Separator for lithium ion secondary battery, method for manufacture thereof, and lithium ion secondary battery, Hiroshi Ohnishi, Te Hyon Cho, Yuka Kondo, Yoshikazu Miyata, Tatsuo Nakamura, Hiroaki Yamazaki, and Masanao Tanaka, Japan Vilene Co., Ltd. (JP). U.S. 8,741,490 (20140603), Thickening agent for alkaline battery, and alkaline battery, Yoshimasa Matsumoto, Sanyo Chemical Industries, Ltd. (JP). U.S. 8,741,491 (20140603), Ionic liquid containing sulfonate ions, Derek Wolfe, Cody A. Friesen, and Paul Bryan Johnson, Fluidic, Inc. U.S. 8,741,492 (20140603), Lithium air battery, Fuminori Mizuno, Shinji Nakanishi, and Yoshiharu Takasaya, Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (JP). U.S. 8,741,494 (20140603), Fuel cell power plant used as reformate generator, Paul R. Margiott, Carl Rohrbach Jr. and Michael E. Gorman, UTC Fuel Cells, LLC. U.S. 8,741,495 (20140603), Solid oxide fuel cell device, Naoki Watanabe, Yousuke Akagi, Shuichiro Saigan, Nobuo Isaka, and Toshiharu Ooe, Toto Ltd. (JP). U.S. 8,741,496 (20140603), Fuel cell system with dilution and purge control and control method thereof, Yuji Matsumoto, Satoshi Aoyagi, Takuya Shirasaka, and Koichiro Miyata, Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (JP). U.S. 8,741,497 (20140603), Fuel cell system and fuel cell hybrid vehicle, Koji Katano and Nobutaka Teshima, Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (JP). U.S. 8,741,498 (20140603), Fuel cell, Junichi Shirahama, Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (JP). U.S. 8,741,499 (20140603), Solid oxide fuel cell, Kuniaki Yoshikata, Koichi Mikami, and Hirotoshi Sakamoto, Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. (JP). U.S. 8,741,500 (20140603), Fuel cell stack and fuel cell system, Toshiyuki Fujita, Hironori Kambara, Masashi Muraoka, and Tomohisa Yoshie, Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (JP). U.S. 8,741,501 (20140603), Nanoengineered membrane-electrode assembly for hightemperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells, Ronald S. Besser, The Trustees of The Stevens Institute of Technology. U.S. 8,741,502 (20140603), Nickel oxide powder material for solid oxide type fuel cell and method for producing the same, and anode material, anode and solid oxide type fuel cell using the same, Norimichi Yonesato, Yasumasa Hattori, Hideyuki Yamashita, and Tai Itou, Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd. (JP). U.S. 8,741,503 (20140603), Manufacture method for polymer electrolyte fuel, and polymer electrolyte fuel cell manufactured by the method, Yasuhiro Akita, Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (JP). U.S. 8,741,504 (20140603), Solid catalysts and fuel cell employing the solid catalysts, Takashi Yoshida, Fumihiko Aiga, Satoshi Itoh, Yoshiko Hiraoka, Reiko Yoshimura, and Tsukasa Tada, Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (JP). U.S. 8,741,505 (20140603), Device and method for stacking fuel cell stack, Jung Yeon Byun, Sung Bum Choi, and Jong Hyun Lee, Hyundai Motor Co. (KR). U.S. 8,742,619 (20140603), Battery system, electric vehicle, movable body, power storage device, and power supply device,

Kazumi Ohkura and Tomonori Kunimitsu, SANYO Electric Co., Ltd (JP). U.S. 8,742,722 (20140603), Dynamic power management system and method, Charles Chang, International Rectifier Corp. U.S. 8,742,725 (20140603), Secondary battery system, Akira Tsujiko, Tomitaro Hara, Takuichi Arai, Tsuyoshi Yano, Daisuke Teramoto, Keiko Wasada, and Sachie Yuasa, Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (JP). U.S. 8,742,727 (20140603), Apparatus and method for estimating voltage of secondary battery including blended cathode material, Won-Tae Joe, Geun-Chang Chung, and Sun-Young Cha, LG Chem, Ltd. (KR). U.S. 8,742,728 (20140603), System for controlling charging and discharging of lithium ion battery, Hironori Sasaki, Tsunenori Yamamoto, and Takefumi Okumura, Hitachi, Ltd. (JP). U.S. 8,742,729 (20140603), Rechargeable battery, Lee Z. Wang, Flashsilicon InCorp. U.S. 8,742,763 (20140603), Battery module state detection method, Chin-Chuan Liu, Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology, Armaments Bureau, Ministry of National Defense (TW). U.S. 8,744,593 (20140603), Gel formed battery, Glenn Godden, Empire Technology Development LLC. U.S. 8,747,490 (20140610), Assembling method for battery outer case for receiving a flat battery pack joined by seam-rolling, Ryuichi Amagai, Etsuo Oogami, Seijirou Yajima, Teruo Segawa, and Kazuhiko Tsukada, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. (JP) and Toyo Seikan Kaisha, Ltd. (JP). U.S. 8,747,498 (20140610), Hydrogen generator and fuel cell system comprising the same, Kiyoshi Taguchi, Takanori Shimada, Yoshikazu Tanaka, Yoshio Tamura, and Shigeki Yasuda, Panasonic Corp. (JP). U.S. 8,747,796 (20140610), Method of preparing carbon substrate for gas diffusion layer of polymer electrolyte fuel cell, carbon substrate prepared by using the method, and system for manufacturing the same, Chang Woo Lee, Eun Sook Lee, Jy Young Jyoung, Do Hun Kim, Yong Won Jin, Jung Mi Gwak, and Young Uk Jyoung, Hyup Jin I&C Co., Ltd. (KR). U.S. 8,747,800 (20140610), Graphite material, carbon material for battery electrode, and battery, Akinori Sudoh and Masataka Takeuchi, Showa Denko KK (JP). U.S. 8,748,019 (20140610), Car power source apparatus, Wataru Okada, SANYO Electric Co., Ltd. (JP). U.S. 8,748,020 (20140610), Energy storage device, Ha-Young Lee, Jin-A Kang, Jun-Ho Kim, and Sang-Hyun Bae, LS Mtron Ltd. (KR). U.S. 8,748,021 (20140610), Battery module, Young-Bin Lim, Samsung SDI Co., Ltd. (KR) and Robert Bosch GmbH (DE). U.S. 8,748,022 (20140610), Pouch type battery, Hyojung Song and Daekyu Kim, Samsung SDI Co., Ltd. (KR). U.S. 8,748,024 (20140610), Battery, Maurus Wyser, Swissbatt AG (CH). U.S. 8,748,025 (20140610), Cell holding device, assembled battery, and vehicle, Hiroshi Ohta, Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (JP). U.S. 8,748,027 (20140610), Middle or large-sized battery pack case providing improved distribution uniformity of coolant flux, Ye Hoon Im, Dooseong Choi, Sang Phil Han, Jongmoon Yoon, Jaesung Ahn, Heekook Yang, and Dal Mo Kang, LG Chem, Ltd. (KR). U.S. 8,748,028 (20140610), Multi-layer microporous membrane, battery separator and battery, Kotaro Takita and Shintaro Kikuchi, Toray Battery Separator Film Co., Ltd. (JP). U.S. 8,748,029 (20140610), Battery pack, Yukari Tadokoro, Karuki Hamada, and Tadashi Shoji, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. (JP). U.S. 8,748,030 (20140610), Secondary battery, Sangwon Byun, Samsung SDI Co., Ltd. (KR) and Robert Bosch GmbH (DE). U.S. 8,748,031 (20140610), Rechargeable battery having multiple cases, Yong-Sam Kim, Jeong-Won Oh, and Yoon-Tai Kwak, Samsung SDI Co., Ltd. (KR) and Robert Bosch GmbH (DE).

U.S. 8,748,032 (20140610), Cable-type secondary battery, Yo-Han Kwon, Je-Young Kim, Ki-Tae Kim, Heon-Cheol Shin, Hyung-Man Cho, and Hye-Ran Jung, LG Chem, Ltd. (KR). U.S. 8,748,033 (20140610), Battery pack exhibiting improved insulation performance and assembly productivity, Bohyun Byun and Jongpil Kim, Samsung SDI Co., Ltd. (KR). U.S. 8,748,034 (20140610), Battery including baffling member including one of projecting portion and recessed portion extending from lid plate, Takeshi Sasaki, Kazuhide Tozuka, Katsuhiko Okamoto, and Masakazu Tsutsumi, GS Yuasa International Ltd. (JP). U.S. 8,748,035 (20140610), Battery, vehicle, and battery-mounting device, Hikohito Yamazaki, Kaoru Yugahara, Jumpei Iijima, Takashi Harayama, and Masato Komatsuki, Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (JP). U.S. 8,748,036 (20140610), Non-aqueous secondary battery, Takashi Konishi, Hitachi, Ltd. (JP). U.S. 8,748,037 (20140610), Cathode and electrochemical device including cathode, Niroyuki Nishide, Satoshi Nakajima, and Yuichi Aihara, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (KR). U.S. 8,748,038 (20140610), Cathode active material, cathode including the cathode active material, lithium battery including the cathode, and method of preparing the cathode active material, Gue-sung Kim, Won-chang Choi, and Kyu-sung Park, Samsung SDI Co., Ltd. (KR). U.S. 8,748,040 (20140610), Negative electrode active material for lithium secondary battery and negative electrode for lithium secondary battery, Yuta Kimura, Yuichiro Tago, Kenji Kodama, and Satoshi Takemoto, Daido Steel Co., Ltd. (JP). U.S. 8,748,041 (20140610), Positive electrode active material for lithium ion battery, Hirohito Satoh, Yoshio Kajiya, and Ryuichi Nagase, JX Nippon Mining & Metals Corp. (JP). U.S. 8,748,042 (20140610), Cathode active material, method of manufacturing it, cathode, and battery, Haruo Watanabe, Kenji Ogisu, Koji Morita, Masanori Soma,Yosuke Hosoya, Hideto Azuma, and Tomoyo Ooyama, Sony Corp. (JP). U.S. 8,748,043 (20140610), Electrolytes for lithium sulfur cells, Yuriy V. Mikhaylik, Sion Power Corp. U.S. 8,748,044 (20140610), Li-La-Ti-O composite solid electrolyte material containing silicon and synthesizing method thereof, Cewen Nan, Ao Mei, Yuchuan Feng, Lin Yuanhua, Yoshitaka Minamida, and Shoji Yokoishi, Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (JP) and Tsinghua University (CN). U.S. 8,748,045 (20140610), Lithium battery and method for fabricating the same, Fu-Ming Wang and Chin-Shu Cheng, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (TW). U.S. 8,748,046 (20140610), Lithium-ion electrolytes with fluoroester co-solvents, Marshall C. Smart, Ratnakumar V. Bugga, G. K. Surya Prakash, Kiah Smith, and Pooja Bhalla, California Institute of Technology and University of Southern California. U.S. 8,748,047 (20140610), Method for operating a fuel cell system with a recirculation blower arranged in a fuel circuit thereof, Thomas Baur, Cosimo Mazzotta, and Andreas Knoop, Daimler AG (DE). U.S. 8,748,048 (20140610), Fuel cell system including water injection device and return passage bypassing compressor, Tatsuya Sugawara and Motohiro Suzuki, Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (JP). U.S. 8,748,049 (20140610), Fuel cell system and method of controlling fuel cell system, Masashi Sato and Susumu Maeshima, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. (JP). U.S. 8,748,050 (20140610), Portable fuel cell power source, Gerard F. McLean, Joerg Zimmermann, and Jeremy Schrooten, Société BIC (FR). U.S. 8,748,051 (20140610), Adaptive loading of a fuel cell, Gary M. Robb, Steven G. Goebel, and Daniel I. Harris, GM Global Technology Operations LLC. U.S. 8,748,052 (20140610), Reversible fuel cell, John Thomas Sirr Irvine, Julie Margaret Nairn, Paul Alexander Conner, James Rennie, Alan Feighery, Frances Gwyneth Elaine Jones, Kelcey Lynn

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Eccleston, and Pierrot Sassou Attidekou, The University Court of the University of St. Andrews (GB). U.S. 8,748,053 (20140610), Anode bleed flow detection and remedial actions, Abdullah B. Alp, Prasad Gade, and Jon R. Sienkowski, GM Global Technology Operations LLC. U.S. 8,748,054 (20140610), Method for supplying fuel gas to a gas chamber of a fuel cell and fuel cell, Detlev Coerlin, Walter Stühler, and Ottmar Voitlein, Siemens Aktiengesellschaft (DE). U.S. 8,748,055 (20140610), Composite separator for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell and method for manufacturing the same, Dai Gil Lee, Ha Na Yu, Byoung Chul Kim, Bu Gi Kim, Jun Woo Lim, and Jung Do Suh, Hyundai Motor Co. (KR) and Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KR). U.S. 8,748,056 (20140610), Anode with remarkable stability under conditions of extreme fuel starvation, Emad El Batawi, Darren Hickey, and James McElroy, Bloom Energy Corp. U.S. 8,748,057 (20140610), Ionic electrolyte membrane structure, method for its production and solid oxide fuel cell making use of ionic electrolyte membrane structure, Masahiro Ito, Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd. (JP). U.S. 8,748,059 (20140610), Fuel cartridge with flexible liner, Paul Adams, Andrew J. Curello, and Floyd Fairbanks, Société BIC (FR). U.S. 8,748,334 (20140610), Process for producing electrode catalyst for fuel cell, Shigeru Konishi, Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. (JP). U.S. 8,749,201 (20140610), Battery pack capacity learn algorithm, Scott M. Skelton, GM Global Technology Operations LLC. U.S. 8,749,204 (20140610), Battery condition detector, battery pack including same, and battery condition detecting method, Yoshihide Majima, Keiichi Kitamura, Kazuhiko Takeno, Yasuyuki Kanai, and Haruo Uemura, Mitsumi Electric Co., Ltd. (JP) and NTT DoCoMo, Inc. (JP). U.S. 8,749,935 (20140610), Protection circuit for lithium-ion battery, Huan Xia, Hong Fu Jin Precision Industry (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd (CN) and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd. (TW). U.S. 8,749,952 (20140610), Multiple-coil supercapacitor, Philippe Azais, Olivier Caumont, and Jean-Michel Depond, batScap (FR). U.S. 8,749,953 (20140610), Electric double layer capacitor, lithium ion capacitor and manufacturing method thereof, Junpei Momo, Yumiko Saito, Rie Matsubara, and Hiroatsu Todoriki, Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd. (JP). U.S. 8,751,082 (20140610), System and method of in-situ diagnosis of fuel cell health during vehicle operation, Taehee Han, Ellazar V. Niangar, Nilesh Dale, and Kevork Adjemian, Nissan North America, Inc. U.S. 8,752,573 (20140617), Non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery with filling function, and non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery and non-aqueous electrolyte filling device used therefor, Naoto Nishimura and Kazuya Sakashita, Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (JP). U.S. 8,753,492 (20140617), Method for enhancing current throughput in an electrochemical system, Sung Hee Ko, Sung Jae Kim, Jongyoon Han, and Hiong Yap Gan, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. U.S. 8,753,525 (20140617), Microporous carbons with aligned pores for supercapacitors, Gleb Nikolayevich Yushin, Sila Nanotechnologies Inc. U.S. 8,753,532 (20140617), Positive electrode materials combining high safety and high power in a Li rechargeable battery, Stephane Levasseur, Philippe Carlach, Randy De Palma, and Michèle Van Thournout, Umicore (BE). U.S. 8,753,533 (20140617), Mixed cathode active material having improved power characteristics and lithium secondary battery including the same, Jung Hwan Park, Song Taek Oh, Geun Chang Chung, Su Hwan Kim, and Juichi Arai, LG Chem, Ltd. (KR). U.S. 8,753,759 (20140617), Battery with chlorophyll

electrode, Chungpin Liao, iNNOT BioEnergy Holding Co. (KY). U.S. 8,753,760 (20140617), Secondary battery with gas release valve, Yutaka Sato, Takuro Tsunaki, Ryuji Kohno, and Takashi Sasaki, Hitachi Vehicle Energy, Ltd. (JP). U.S. 8,753,761 (20140617), Aqueous redox flow batteries comprising metal ligand coordination compounds, Arthur J. Esswein, John Goeltz, Evan R. King, Steven Y. Reece, and Desiree Amadeo, Sun Catalytix Corp. U.S. 8,753,763 (20140617), Flexible battery and flexible electronic device including the same, Moon-seok Kwon, Han-su Kim, Young-min Choi, Jae-man Choi, Seung-sik Hwang, Min-sang Song, and Jeong-kuk Shon, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (KR). U.S. 8,753,764 (20140617), Battery assembly structure, Donald P. H. Wu, Energy Control Ltd. (VG). U.S. 8,753,765 (20140617), Secondary battery, Sangwon Byun, Sooseok Choi, and Jeongwon Oh, Samsung SDI Co., Ltd. (KR) and Robert Bosch GmbH (DE). U.S. 8,753,766 (20140617), Electric storage device, Syun Ito, GS Yuasa International Ltd. (JP). U.S. 8,753,767 (20140617), Automobile cell and related method, Osamu Shimamura, Hiroshi Sugawara, Hideaki Horie, Tomaru Ogawa, Takaaki Abe, and Takanori Ito, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. (JP). U.S. 8,753,768 (20140617), Electrical connection structure for increasing the securing reliability and method of manufacturing the same, and battery pack structure, Wen-Lung Liang, Lite-On Technology Corp. (TW). U.S. 8,753,769 (20140617), Method for manufacturing secondary battery, Ryuta Morishima, Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (JP). U.S. 8,753,770 (20140617), Electrode body, all solid state battery element, and all solid state battery, Koji Kawamoto, Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (JP). U.S. 8,753,771 (20140617), Lithium anodes for electrochemical cells, Terje A. Skotheim, Christopher J. Sheehan, Yuriy V. Mikhaylik, and John Affinito, Sion Power Corp. U.S. 8,753,772 (20140617), Graphene-sulfur nanocomposites for rechargeable lithium-sulfur battery electrodes, Jun Liu, John P. Lemmon, Zhenguo Yang, Yuliang Cao, and Xiaolin Li, Battelle Memorial Institute. U.S. 8,753,774 (20140617), Negative electrode material for secondary battery having lithium-doped silicon-silicon oxide composite, Nobuo Kawada, Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. (JP). U.S. 8,753,775 (20140617), Rechargeable lithium battery with an electrode active material including a multi-phase alloy powder, Takitaro Yamaguchi and Ryuichi Shimizu, Samsung SDI Co., Ltd. (KR). U.S. 8,753,776 (20140617), Linear ether electrolyte and asymmetric end groups for use in lithium batteries, Weiwei Huang, Eveready Battery Co., Inc. U.S. 8,753,777 (20140617), Lithium secondary battery containing cathode materials having high energy density and organic/inorganic composite porous membrane, Seungeun Choi, Eungyoung Goh, Hyang Mok Lee, Heegyoung Kang, Sangbaek Ryu, and Kiwoong Kim, LG Chem, Ltd. (KR). U.S. 8,753,778 (20140617), Negative active material for rechargeable lithium battery, method of preparing the same, and rechargeable lithium battery comprising the same, Sung Man Lee and Byoung-Hoon Ahn, Knu-Industry Cooperation Foundation (KR). U.S. 8,753,779 (20140617), Composite materials of nano-dispersed silicon and tin and methods of making the same, Yuan Gao, Marina Yakovleva, John Engel, Daniel Diesburg, and Brian Fitch, FMC Corp. U.S. 8,753,780 (20140617), Electrode including barrier layer containing two conductive powders with different particle diameters and method for producing the same, Koji Takahata, Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (JP). U.S. 8,753,782 (20140617), Cooling system and method of a

fuel cell, Tomotaka Ishikawa, Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (JP). U.S. 8,753,783 (20140617), Fuel cells with improved resistance to fuel crossover, Andrew Martin Creeth and Jian-Guo Liu, ACAL Enegy Ltd. (GB). U.S. 8,753,784 (20140617), Separator for molten carbonate fuel cell, Young Jin Kim, In Gab Chang, Boo Ho Yoon, Tae Won Lee, and Young Bong Kim, Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co., Ltd. (KR). U.S. 8,753,785 (20140617), Shaped part, Marco Brandner, Stefan Gerzoskovitz, Wolfgang Kraussler, Alexander Leuprecht, and Andreas Venskutonis, Plansee SE (AT). U.S. 8,754,140 (20140617), Material for solid polyelectrolyte suitable for use in fuel cell, Takayuki Araki, Noritoshi Oka, Yoshito Tanaka, Takayuki Nakamura, and Tetsuo Shimizu, Daikin Industries, Ltd. (JP). U.S. 8,754,611 (20140617), Diffusion-Ltd. adaptive battery charging, Thomas C. Greening, P. Jeffrey Ungar, and William C. Athas, Apple Inc. U.S. 8,754,614 (20140617), Fast charging of battery using adjustable voltage control, Anil Paryani, Clay H. Kishiyama, Scott I. Kohn, and Vineet H. Mehta, Tesla Motors, Inc. U.S. 8,754,653 (20140617), Electronic battery tester, J. David Vonderhaar and Kevin I. Bertness, Midtronics, Inc. U.S. 8,754,654 (20140617), Power supply device for detecting disconnection of voltage detection lines, Kimihiko Furukawa, SANYO Electric Co., Ltd. (JP). U.S. 8,755,169 (20140617), Electrochemical capacitor, Kazutaka Kuriki, Kiyofumi Ogino, and Yumiko Saito, Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co, Ltd. (JP). U.S. 8,756,798 (20140624), Device for fitting and equipping motor vehicle battery housing, Jochen Meier, Thomas Dörffel, and Roger Loer, SASIT Industrietechnik GmbH (DE) and VB Autobatterie GmbH & Co. KGAA (DE). U.S. 8,757,221 (20140624), Vehicle powered by hydrogen fuelcell and system for fuelling such vehicle, Geoffroy Husson and Gabriel Menier, AGCO SA (FR). U.S. 8,758,455 (20140624), Process for producing lithium composite metal oxide having layered structure, Cedric Pitteloud, Yoshinari Sawabe, and Satoshi Shimano, Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. (JP). U.S. 8,758,913 (20140624), Membraneless micro fuel cell, Hyung Jin Sung, Sang Youl Yoon, Dewan Hasan Ahmed, and Hong Beom Park, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KR). U.S. 8,758,914 (20140624), Li-ion/polysulfide flow battery, Lutgard C. De Jonghe, Steven J. Visco, Yevgeniy S. Nimon, and Bruce D. Katz, PolyPlus Battery Co. U.S. 8,758,915 (20140624), Module unit, Kazuyuki Matsunaga, Yazaki Corp. (JP). U.S. 8,758,916 (20140624), Energy storage apparatus, Kenichi Fuse, Empire Technology Development LLC. U.S. 8,758,917 (20140624), Secondary battery, Taira Saito, Musashi Nakagane, and Satoru Suzuki, Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (JP). U.S. 8,758,918 (20140624), Battery and production method thereof, Toshifumi Shimizu, Kengo Kurata, Natsuki Toyota, and Eiki Kashiwazaki, Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (JP) [This patent was withdrawn prior to issue.]. U.S. 8,758,922 (20140624), Battery system and manifold assembly with two manifold members removably coupled together, Thomas J. Gadawski, LG Chem, Ltd. (KR). U.S. 8,758,923 (20140624), Battery pack, Ji-Hyoung Yoon and Kwon Sohn, Samsung SDI Co., Ltd. (KR) and Robert Bosch GmbH (DE). U.S. 8,758,924 (20140624), Extruded and ribbed thermal interface for use with a battery cooling system, Peter Thomas Tennessen, Jeffrey C. Weintraub, and Weston Arthur Hermann, Tesla Motors, Inc.

U.S. 8,758,925 (20140624), Battery system containing phase change material-containing capsules in interior configuration thereof, Seungdon Choi and Hong-Kyu Park, LG Chem, Ltd. (KR). U.S. 8,758,926 (20140624), Separator for electrochemical device, manufacturing method thereof, and electrochemical device comprising the same, Jeong-Man Son and Yoon-Jung Bae, LG Chem, Ltd. (KR). U.S. 8,758,927 (20140624), Secondary battery, Donghyun Lee, Jeomsoo Kim, and Heungtaek Shim, Samsung SDI Co., Ltd. (KR) and Robert Bosch GmbH (DE). U.S. 8,758,928 (20140624), Conductive structure for an electrode assembly of a lithium secondary battery, Donald P. H. Wu (TW). U.S. 8,758,929 (20140624), Secondary battery, Sangwon Byun, Jonghwan Lee, Minhyung Guen, Zin Park, and Youngchul Chang, Samsung SDI Co., Ltd. (KR) and Robert Bosch GmbH (DE). U.S. 8,758,930 (20140624), Secondary battery having a short induction plate, Sooyeon Maeng, Samsung SDI Co., Ltd. (KR). U.S. 8,758,931 (20140624), Electrochemical cell package, Bouziane Yebka, Joseph Anthony Holung, Kenneth Scott Seethaler, and Tin-Lup Wong, Lenovo (Singapore) Pte Ltd. (SG). U.S. 8,758,932 (20140624), Arrangement of battery poles of an electric energy accumulator, Alexander Sitte (AT). U.S. 8,758,933 (20140624), Battery with electrode arrangement in relation to the holder, Atsushi Takahashi and Toshio Takeshita, Sony Corp. (JP). U.S. 8,758,934 (20140624), Electrolyte for lithium secondary battery and lithium secondary battery comprising the same, Kyoung Ho Ahn, Chul Haeng Lee, Min Jung Kim, and Doo Kyung Yang, LG Chem, Ltd. (KR). U.S. 8,758,936 (20140624), Thin film structures, Matti Valkiainen, Harry Boer, Anu Koivula, Maria Smolander, Pia Qvintus-Leino, Kirsi Immonen, and Liisa Viikari, Valtion Teknillinen Tutkimuskeskus (FI). U.S. 8,758,937 (20140624), Binder with good rate property and long cycleability for lithium secondary battery, Dong Jo Ryu, Cha Hun Ku, Chang Sun Han, Byoung Yun Kim, Ju Hyun Kim, and Chang Wan Koo, LG Chem, Ltd. (KR). U.S. 8,758,938 (20140624), Negative electrode for lithium secondary battery and lithium secondary battery, Nobuhiro Ogihara, Kabushiki Kaisha Toyota Chuo Kenkyusho (JP). U.S. 8,758,939 (20140624), Anode active material for secondary battery, Ki Tae Kim, Je-Young Kim, Dong-Sub Jung, Seung Tae Hong, and Young Sun Choi, LG Chem, Ltd. (KR). U.S. 8,758,940 (20140624), Lithium-titanium complex oxide, and battery electrode and lithium ion secondary battery using same, Keiko Shiroki, Chie Kawamura, Daigo Ito, Akitoshi Wagawa, Masaki Mochigi, and Toshimasa Suzuki, Taiyo Yuden Co, Ltd (JP). U.S. 8,758,941 (20140624), Positive electrode material for lithium ion secondary battery and lithium ion secondary battery using the same, Hiroaki Konishi and Toyotaka Yuasa, Hitachi, Ltd. (JP). U.S. 8,758,942 (20140624), Cathode active material, and cathode and lithium including the same, Jaegu Yoon, Kyusung Park, and Dongmin Im, Samsung SDI Co., Ltd. (KR). U.S. 8,758,944 (20140624), Lithium secondary battery containing additive for improved high-temperature characteristics, Suyoung Ryu, Dongmyung Kim, and Eun young Kim, LG Chem, Ltd. (KR). U.S. 8,758,945 (20140624), Overcharge protection by coupling redox shuttle chemistry with radical polymerization additives, William Jack Casteel Jr., Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. U.S. 8,758,946 (20140624), Electrolyte suitable for use in a lithium ion cell or battery, Robert C. McDonald, Giner, Inc. U.S. 8,758,947 (20140624), Graphene-based battery electrodes having continuous flow paths, Jiguang Zhang, Jie Xiao, Jun Liu, Wu Xu, Xiaolin Li, and Deyu Wang, Battelle Memorial Institute.

Advanced Battery Technology August 2014

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U.S. 8,758,948 (20140624), Iron-air rechargeable battery, Sri R. Narayan, G. K. Surya Prakash, and Andrew Kindler, University of Southern California and California Institute of Technology. U.S. 8,758,950 (20140624), Fuel cell system, Hiroshi Tatsui and Kiyoshi Taguchi, Panasonic Corp. (JP). U.S. 8,758,952 (20140624), Fuel cell system with vibration control, Koji Katano, Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (JP). U.S. 8,758,953 (20140624), High temperature membrane electrode assembly with high power density and corresponding method of making, Mohammad Allama Enayetullah, Trenergi Corp. U.S. 8,758,955 (20140624), Additives to mitigate catalyst layer degradation in fuel cells, Jing Li, Keping Wang, Yunsong Yang, Scott McDermid, and Sumit Kundu, Daimler AG (DE) and Ford Motor Co. U.S. 8,758,956 (20140624), Polymer membrane fuel cell, Antonio Delfino and David Olsommer, Michelin Recherche et Technique SA (CH). U.S. 8,758,957 (20140624), Graphene coated SS bipolar plates, Gayatri Vyas Dadheech, Thomas A. Trabold, Youssef M. Mikhail, and Mahmoud H. Abd Elhamid, GM Global Technology Operations LLC. U.S. 8,758,958 (20140624), Fuel cell separator plate assembly, Richard D. Breault, Warren L Luoma, and Robert P Roche, ClearEdge Power, LLC. U.S. 8,758,959 (20140624), Processes for producing catalyst-layer-supporting substrate, catalyst-layer-supporting substrate, membrane electrode assembly, and fuel cell, Wu Mei, Tsuyoshi Kobayashi, Mutsuki Yamazaki, and Yoshihiko Nakano, Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (JP). U.S. 8,759,055 (20140624), Miniature biological fuel cell that is operational under physiological conditions, and associated devices and methods, Adam Heller, Nicholas Mano, Hyug-Han Kim, Yongchao Zhang, Fei Mao, Ting Chen, and Scott C Barton, Abbott Diabetes Care Inc. U.S. 8,759,247 (20140624), Methanol electro-oxidation catalyst and method of making the same, Syed Mohammed Javaid Zaidi, Saleem Ur Rahman, Shakeel Ahmed, and Mukhtar Bello, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (SA). U.S. 8,760,111 (20140624), Secondary battery output power controller, Yasuhiro Endo, Hiroaki Takeuchi, and Yukihiro Minezawa, Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (JP). U.S. 8,760,118 (20140624), System and method for charging and discharging a Li-ion battery, John F. Christensen, Jasim Ahmed, and Aleksandar Kojic, Robert Bosch GmbH (DE). U.S. 8,760,121 (20140624), Charging apparatus that can recharge different types of batteries without overcharging them, Kikuo Utsuno, Lapis Semiconductor Co., Ltd. (JP) [This patent was withdrawn prior to issue.]. U.S. 8,760,124 (20140624), Systems and methods for initializing a charging system, Ray M. Ransom, Milun Perisic, and Lateef A. Kajouke, GM Global Technology Operations LLC [This patent was withdrawn prior to issue.]. U.S. 8,760,168 (20140624), Assembled battery total voltage detection circuit, Akihiko Kudo, Mutsumi Kikuchi, and Masaki Nagaoka, Hitachi, Ltd. (JP) and Hitachi Vehicle Energy, Ltd. (JP). U.S. 8,760,309 (20140624), Fuel cell compressor air bearing wear sensor, Joseph Vyas Mussro, GM Global Technology Operations LLC. U.S. 8,760,846 (20140624), Apparatus and method for capacitors having engineered electrodes with very high energy density, John P. Snyder, GranBlueTech, LLC. U.S. 8,760,851 (20140624), Electrochemical double-layer capacitor for high temperature applications, Riccardo Signorelli and Lindsay A. Wilhelmus, FastCAP Systems Corp. U.S. 8,761,842 (20140624), Encapsulated integrated-circuit device with thin-film battery, Harlan T. Jacobs, Mark L. Jenson, Jody J. Klaassen, and Jenn-Feng Yan, Cymbet Corp. U.S. 8,761,877 (20140624), Biosorbable battery and related

methods, Ljiljana Liliana Atanasoska and Michael J. Root, Cardiac Pacemakers, Inc. U.S. 8,761,885 (20140624), Battery life estimation based on voltage depletion rate, Saadat Hussain, Cyberonics, Inc. U.S. 8,761,979 (20140624), Protecting a high voltage battery in a hybrid electric vehicle, Seok Young Yun, Hyundai Motor Co. (KR) and Kia Motors Corp. (KR).

Bitrode Develops High-Powered Lab Testing System Bitrode, a leader in the battery charging and testing industry based in St. Louis, Missouri, is expanding its product line to include a new high-powered laboratory testing system – the FTF-HP. With charge or discharge cycles up to 500kW, the FTF-HP is well-suited for high power applications where

precise control of current and voltage is required. Parallel functionality allows the system to operate at an impressive 2MW of power for large scale testing applications. The FTF-HP is designed to meet various requirements for equipment performance with current and voltage specifications, mode switching speeds and ramp rates tuned to test regiments for battery materials development, cell, module or pack testing. The unit is able to produce accurate simulations of rapidly changing power demands in EV/HEV systems. Discharge power recycling to the AC line makes the FTF-HP more energy efficient to operate. Additionally, the battery simulation function can program constant voltage, maximum current and internal impedance for motor testing applications. It is available in both single and dual circuit

PRODUCT NEWS

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configurations. For more information, contact Christie Williams, email: marketing@bitrode.com, phone: 1-636-343-6112 ext. 146, or visit www.bitrode.com.

PEC’s ACT0550: A New Benchmark in Cell Testing PEC’s cell test and formation equipment serves the full product life cycle of EV and HEV large format cells, starting from the initial stages of R&D to validation and mass production. To enhance products and reduce the cost for customers, PEC’s fourth generation cell tester, the ACT0550, has replaced the SBT0550 24 channel model. The specifications show 80 channels per rack, 50A per channel, and full parallel capability at a 100 ìsec internal sampling frequency. The new ACT0550 Gen 4 test rack is configurable by the end user in different channel configurations: 80 x 50A, 40x100A, 20x200A, 16x250A, 8x400A, 4x800A, 2x1600A, 1x3200A or any combination required by the test regimes. Due to high-speed fiber-optics communication between the channels there is no loss in functionality while using parallel channels. With 100 ìsec based internal sampling, control and capacity calculations, FPGA hardware controls for both current and voltage and a ± 0.005% FSD accuracy on the voltage readings, this is 10 times better than PEC’s previous offering and 100 times better than competing products in the same power range. Water-cooled power electronics eliminate unnecessary fans and implement an internal cooling system of the power electronics. As an immediate effect of this cooling platform, the 20kW ACT0550 test system will turn a cell testing lab back into area without heat and noise pollution. The improved cooling and elimination of external fans easily doubles the MTBF of the equipment, and eliminates filter replacement and dust collection inside the power electronics. PEC has minimized the footprint of the ACT0550 by more than 70%, while increasing the system’s capability by a factor 10. Also the adoption of PEC’s standard cooling platform reduced the manufacturing cost of the system. As a result the ACT0550 is offered at half the channel price of PEC’s previous R&D cell tester.

For more information, visit www.peccorp.com.

Global Market for Wearable Electronics Batteries The global market for batteries used in wearable electronics will grow more than tenfold in just four short years, propelled by portable new products especially suitable for active sports and fitness lifestyles, according to a new report from IHS Technology. Worldwide revenue for wearable electronics batteries is projected to reach $77 million by 2018, up considerably from a mere $6 million by year-end in 2014. This year marks the first time of significant volume for the market from a virtually non-existent base last year, and revenue will continue to climb very rapidly in the next few years ahead. By 2018, industry takings will have grown nearly 120% from 2014 levels, as shown in the attached figure. In all, annual shipments for wearable electronic devices will reach an estimated 56 million units by 2018, fueling continued demand for the batteries that power these products, Mc Alpine noted. For more information, visit https://technology.ihs.com.

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENTUsing Sand to Improve Battery Performance Researchers at the University of California, Riverside’s Bourns College of Engineering have created a Li-ion battery that outperforms the current industry standard by three times. The key material: sand. (See photo, page 1.) “This is the holy grail – a low cost, non-toxic, environmentally friendly way to produce high performance Li-ion battery anodes,” says Zachary Favors, a graduate student working with Cengiz and Mihri Ozkan, both engineering professors at UC Riverside. Favors’ research is centered on building better Li-ion batteries, primarily for personal electronics and electric vehicles. He is focused on the anode, or negative side of the battery. Graphite is the current standard material for the anode. Researchers are now focused on using silicon at the nanoscale, or billionths of a meter, level as a replacement for graphite. The problem with nanoscale silicon is that it degrades quickly and is hard to produce in large quantities. Favors set out to solve both these problems. He researched sand to find a spot in the U.S. where it is found with a high percentage of quartz. That took him to the Cedar Creek Reservoir, east of Dallas, where he grew up. Sand in hand, Favors came back to the lab at UC Riverside and milled it down to the nanometer scale, followed by a series of purification steps changing its

color from brown to bright white, similar in color and texture to powdered sugar. After that, he ground salt and magnesium, both very common elements found dissolved in sea water into the purified quartz. The resulting powder was then heated. With the salt acting as a heat absorber, the magnesium worked to remove the oxygen from the quartz, resulting in pure silicon. The Ozkan team was pleased with how the process went. And they also encountered an added positive surprise. The pure nano-silicon formed in a very porous 3-D silicon sponge like consistency. That porosity has proved to be the key to improving the performance of the batteries built with the nano-silicon.

U.S. DoE Doubles Li-ion Battery Capacity The Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Lab has created a new variety of Li-ion battery that can store at least twice the amount of energy found in your conventional smartphone or laptop battery. Unlike some other battery advances, this energy storage breakthrough

could actually find its way into commercial devices fairly soon. As is fairly normal nowadays, nanotech is the magic ingredient; nanostructured silicon sponges to be exact. While it takes six carbon (graphite) atoms to bind to a single Li-ion, a single silicon atom can bind to four Li-ions. The exact maths are a little bit complex, but it ultimately means silicon anodes can theoretically store more than 10 times as much energy as graphite. In practice, because there are other aspects of the battery chemistry to consider, a silicon anode can realistically double or triple a Li-ion battery’s energy capacity. In short, silicon is the key to smartphone and laptop batteries that last days, and smartwatches and other wearable computers that last long

enough to make them actually desirable for everyday use. The problem is, silicon absorbs so many ions that it physically expands to four times its original size. Lithium-ion batteries, which have to be tough and rigid (because they’re explosive), obviously can’t handle a component that regularly expands and contracts by such a huge margin. Now, however, researchers at the DoE’s PNNL have fabricated a silicon electrode that only expands by 30% rather than 400% – and 30% is workable, for commercial LIB designs. PNNL’s secret sauce is the development of a mesoporous silicon sponge – basically a piece of silicon that’s riddled with holes. Instead of expanding outwards by 400%, the silicon instead expands to fill the spongy holes. The porous silicon anode has an energy density of 750mAh per gram (about twice that of graphite). Furthermore, its structure seems to be incredibly rugged: After 1,000 charge/discharge cycles, the prototype battery still retained 80% of its total energy capacity.

Technique Produces Electrodes for Li-Ion Batteries Scientists at the University of Tokyo have developed an approach with industrial potential to produce nano-sized composite silicon-based powders as negative electrodes for the next generation Li-ion batteries. The Li-ion battery market has been seeking an approach to increase battery capacity while retaining its capacity for long recharging process. Structuring materials for electrode at the nanometer-length scale has been known to be an effective way to meet this demand; however, such nanomaterials would essentially need to be produced by high-throughput processing in order to transfer these technologies to industry. In a new article published in Science and Technology of Advanced Materials, scientists report an industrially compatible high-throughput approach to the production of nano-sized composite silicon-based powders that can be used as negative electrodes for the next generation high-density Li-ion batteries. The authors have successfully produced nanocomposite SiO powders by plasma spray physical vapor deposition using low-cost metallurgical grade powders. Using this method, they demonstrated an explicit improvement in the battery capacity cycle performance with these powders as an electrode. The uniqueness of this processing method is that nanosized SiO composites are produced instantaneously through the evaporation and subsequent co-condensation of the powder feedstock. The approach is called plasma spray physical vapor deposition (PS-PVD).

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UPCOMING EVENTSMeetings and Symposia

August 6-7 – Battery Power 2014, Hyatt Denver Tech Center, Denver, Colorado. Topics include new battery designs, improving power management, predicting battery life, regulations and standards, safety and transportation, battery authentication, charging technology, emerging chemistries and market trends. Info: Visit www.batterypoweronline.com.

August 26-28 – 6th China (Shanghai) International Battery Industry Fair, Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC), Shanghai, China. Discover updates on battery industry progress, explore potential opportunities and challenges faced by the industry to create a roadmap for sustainable growth and development. Info: Visit www.goodwill-exh.com/hk/2014cnibf.

September 16-18 – The Battery Show 2014, The Suburban Collection Showplace, Novi, Michigan. Showcases the latest advanced battery technology. Exhibit offers a platform to launch new products, make new contacts. Info: Visit www.thebatteryshow.com.

September 21-23 – BIT’s 4th New Energy Forum-2014, Qingdao International Convention Center, Qingdao, China. Includes lithium batteries, flow batteries, fuel cell technologies, hybrid and fuel cell vehicles, and emerging hydrogen energy technologies. Info: Visit www.bitcongress.com/nef2014.

September 24-26 – International Congress for Battyer Recycling ICBR 2014, Hotel Atlantic Kempinski, Hamburg, Germany. Includes certification of battery recycling plants; legislation; collection efficiency; safety; new recylcing technologies needed for future battery technologies; exhibition, and tour of Redux GmbH. Chaired by Bruno Scrosati. Info: Contact Jeanette Duttlinger, ICM AG, phone: +41 62 785 10 05 or visit www.ich.ch.

October 5-10 – 2014 ECS and SMEQ, Moon Palace Resort, Cancun, Mexico. Comprised of the 226th Meeting of The Electrochemical Chemical Society, the 19th Congreso de la Sociedad Mexicana de Electroquimica, and the 7th Meeting of the Mexico Section of The Electrochemical Society. Topics include batteries and energy storage; corrosion; electrodeposition for micro-and nano-battery materials; electrochemical engineering; fuel cells, electrolyzers and energy conversions; and durability in low temperature fuel cells. Info: The Electrochemical Society, 65 South Main St., Pennington, Building D, New Jersey, 08534-2839, phone: 1-609-737-1902, fax: 1-609-737-2743, or visit www.

• Drive simulations for standard electric vehicle tests: FUDS, SFUDS, GSFUDS, DST, & ECE-15L

• Single or dual circuit models available• New over-current, under-current, over-

voltage and under-voltage protection standard on all models

• Up to 500kW with available option for parallel operation up to 2MW

• Discharge power recycled to AC line for cooler, more energy efficient operation

• Test control and data management with Bitrode’s VisuaLCN Lab Client software

+1.636.343.6112info@bitrode.com www.bitrode.com

Meet us at • The Battery Show • Sept. 16-18, 2014 • Booth B1604

Bitrode’s new high-powered solution to your pack testing needs: FTF-HP

innovation in energy TM

More power to you!

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The composites are 20nm particles, which are composed of a crystalline Si core and a SiOx shell. Furthermore, the addition of methane (CH4) promotes the reduction of SiO and results in a decreased SiO-shell thickness. The core-shell structure is formed in a single-step continuous processing. As a result, half-cell batteries made of PS-PVD powders have exhibited improved initial efficiency and were able to maintain capacities as high as 1000mAh g-1 after 100 cycles.

ELECTRIC VEHICLE NEWS

Volvo, ABB to Develop Fast Charging Solutions Sweden’s Volvo Buses and ABB of Switzerland, have partnered to develop automatic e-bus fast charging solutions for electric-hybrid and full-electric Volvo buses. Under the deal, Volvo Buses will provide electric-hybrid buses and full-electric buses, while ABB will offer standard-based fast-charging solutions for the electric vehicles.

“Together, we have a complete and competitive offer for cities around the world that want to switch to a sustainable public transport system,” says Volvo Buses president Håkan Agnevall. According to Volvo, the partnership will work to standardize automatic e-bus fast charging, and deal with the

communications protocol between infrastructure charging solution and e-bus, electrical interface, and specification of the automatic connection system (ACS). The companies plan to implement the Volvo electric-hybrids and automatic e-bus chargers in the Luxembourg public transport system. Around 12 Volvo electric-hybrid buses will be operated by Sales-Lentz on existing public bus lines by 2015.

Students Build Record-Breaking Solar Electric Car Australia’s University of New South Wales first put together its Sunswift team of vehicle builders in 1995. Students and other volunteers have been churning through

the program ever since. The team set a land-speed record in 2011 for a solar-powered vehicle, which was 55mph at the time. In July, Sunswift set out to beat a 20-year-old long-distance speed record for the fastest average speed by an electric vehicle over a 311-mile stretch. In June on a track outside Geelong, Victoria, the Sunswift managed to go an average of 62mph for the entire 311 miles. Once the team gets the numbers approved by the FIA, they can claim a new world record. The car has carbon-fiber components to help keep weight down to just 660 pounds and is covered in photovoltaic cells that deliver as many as 800W of power under cloudless skies. Under normal conditions, that power could complement the vehicle’s Li-ion battery, but the panels were switched off for the world-record attempt.

Bay Area Governments Make Big EV Buy In California, a group of San Francisco Bay Area cities, counties and water agencies has joined forces for what is being billed as one of the largest single government purchases of all-electric vehicles in the country. The 10 governments and agencies are: San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, Santa Rosa, Fremont, Concord, the Sonoma County Water Agency, the Marin Municipal Water District, and Alameda and Sonoma counties. The six cities, two counties and two water agencies have united to buy 90 electric vehicles with the help of a $2.8 million grant from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, a regional transportation agency, officials with the Bay Area Climate Collaborative say. The vehicles will save more than $500,000 in fuel costs over five years. The vehicles include Ford Motor Co.’s Focus and Nissan Motor Co.’s Leaf. The total cost was $5 million, with the rest of the money coming from funds set aside by the governments and agencies to buy new vehicles. Polaris Launches New Range of Electric Vehicles Electric vehicle maker Polaris of Medina, Minnesota, has launched the 2015 line of Polaris GEM vehicles that are used for transporting people, moving work tasks and cargos. The lineup includes e2, e6, e4, and light-utility vehicles eL, eS, eL XD, eM1400. They can haul up to 1,450 pounds of payload and can seat two to six passengers. Polaris is also launching M1400 4X2 gas variant, which is designed for light-duty commercial utility applications, and an eM1400 lSV that has a 35mph speed limit. In 2013, Polaris GEM saw 50% retail growth and is continuing through the first half of 2014.

Advanced Battery Technology August 2014

Page 22

Advanced Battery TechnologyAugust 2014

Index of Advertisers

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October 6-8 – World of Energy Solutions, Messe Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany. Trade fair and conference addresses all players involved in the manufacturing of battery and energy storage systems for mobile and stationary applications. All areas are dealt with, from raw materials to turnkey battery systems and fuel cells. Info: Visit http://www.messe-stuttgart.de/en/wes/.

October 28-30 – EV2014VE Conference and Trade Show, Sheraton Wall Centre, Vancouver, BC, Canada. Electric Mobility Canada’s 6th annual event is ideal for those supplying, operating or planning to market or operate battery, plug-in hybrid, hybrid or fuel cell electric vehicles in Canada. See some of the latest battery, hybrid, plug-in hybrid and fuel cell electric vehicles. Info: Visit http://emc-mec.ca/ev2014ve/en/.

November 10-13 – Fuel Cell Seminar & Energy Exposition, Westin Bonaventure, Los Angeles, California. Includes fuel cell development; commercialization, development technology and validation of all types of fuel cell applications; industry status and analysis; and fuels and renewable energy. Demonstrations and Ride-and-Drive are planned. Info: Visit www.fuelcellseminar.com.

November 11-12 – Lithium Battery Power, Capital Hilton Hotel, Washington, DC. Explores new ideas for battery design, battery trends and chemistries; novel materials and components to systems design and integration; electrode and electrolyte materials and technologies; Li-ion; lithium-air/lithium oxygen; lithium-sulphur; metal air; and EV to stationary applications. Info: Craig Wohlers, Knowledge Foundation, phone: 1-617-232 7400 ext. 205, or visit www.knowledgefoundation.com.

November 13-14 – Battery Safety Conference, Capital Hilton Hotel, Washington, DC. Includes impact of battery materials on safety; internal shorts, thermal runaway and stability, aging, and catastrophic failure; abuse tolerance and advanced testing procedures and protocols; cell research and safety, Li-based battery safety at systems level; and safety standards and regulatory issues. Info: Craig Wohlers, Knowledge Foundation, phone: 1-617-232 7400 ext. 205, or visit www.knowledgefoundation.com.

2015

March 9-12 – 32nd International Battery Seminar & Exhibit, Broward County Convention Center, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Ideal for battery and small fuel cell manufacturers, users, OEMs, product designers, component, equipment and material suppliers, applications engineers, marketing

analysts, patent attorneys, investors and those interested in the battery and small fuel cell industries. Info: Thomas M. Devita, Seminar Coordinator, Florida Educational Seminars Inc., 2300 Glades Road, Suite 260W, Boca Raton, FL 33431, phone: (561) 367-0193, fax: (561) 367-8429, or visit www.powersources.net.

May 3-6 – 127th Battery Council Convention + Power Mart Expo, Savannah Westin Hotel, Savannah, Georgia. Dedicated to advancing the lead-acid battery industry’s products and companies successfully into the future. Keep up with emerging technologies and changing regulations to do business more effectively in the global marketplace. At the expo, meet people and learn about the tools that can improve your products, streamline your processes and drive profit margins. Info: Battery Council International, 330 N. Wabash Ave., Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60611, phone: 1-312-644-6610, or visit www.batterycouncil.org.

May 12-16 – Battcon, Hilton Bonnet Creek, Orlando, Florida. Noncommercial, technical event for storage battery users from the power, telecom, UPS and other industries. End-users, engineers, battery and battery test equipment manufacturers, installers, and standards and safety experts gather to discuss storage battery innovations and solutions for existing systems; everyday applications; technical advances; and industry concerns. A trade show features storage power related vendors. Info: Jennifer Stryker, Albercorp, 3103 N. Andrews Ave. Ext., Pompano Beach, FL 33064, (954) 623-6660 ext 23806, or visit www.battcon.com.

Module and pack level testing

CAN, I2C SMBus capable

Drive cycle simulation

Import drive cycle from table of values

Battery power is recycled to AC grid in discharge

Utilizes Maccor’s standard battery test software suite

No system power limit, up to 900KW