By: Jackie Flynn, Stanford University A battery made with urea, commonly found in fertilizers and mammal urine, could provide a low-cost way of storing energy produced through solar power or other forms of renewable energy for consumption during off hours. Developed by Stanford chemistry Professor Hongjie Dai and doctoral candidate Michael Angell, the battery is nonflammable and contains electrodes made from abundant aluminum and graphite. Its electrolyte’s main ingredient, urea, is already industrially produced by the ton for plant fertilizers….
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From electric vehicles to grid storage for renewables, batteries are key components in many of tomorrow’s innovations. But current commercialized batteries face problems of price, efficiency, safety, and life-cycle. The television series, NOVA, is exploring many of those issues in the upcoming episode, “Search for the Super Battery.” A preview of the episode by CBS News explores two innovators who are working toward the next big thing in battery technology.

Nominations Deadline: March 15, 2017 The ECS Battery Division is currently accepting nominations for four awards: Battery Division Research Award: established in 1958 to encourage excellence in battery and fuel cell research, and to encourage publication in ECS journals. Battery Division Technology Award: established in 1993 to encourage the development of battery and fuel cell technology, and to recognize significant achievements in this area. Battery Division Postdoctoral Associate Research Award sponsored by MTI Corporation and the Jiang Family Foundation: established…
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Battery fires led to the recall of nearly 2 million Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphones. In order to address this safety concern, researchers at Stanford University have identified 21 solid electrolytes for solid state batteries that could power the next-generation of electronics. “Electrolytes shuttle lithium ions back and forth between the battery’s positive and negative electrodes,” says lead author of the study Austin Sendek, a doctoral candidate at Stanford University, who worked with ECS member Yi Cui on this research….
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Short Course at ECS meetings The use of microscopy to characterize Li-ion batteries (and fuel cells) has grown immensely in recent years. Coupled with advancements in modeling and simulation techniques, this approach offers a unique perspective on Li-ion battery cell design, operational characteristics, and establishes the linkage between performance and microstructure. Based on the work from Bruggeman and others, many historical models have centered around assumptions of microstructure ideality, such as spherical geometries of electrode particles, geometric isotropy of fluid-...
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Lithium-ion batteries supply billions of portable devices with energy. While current Li-ion battery designs may be sufficient for applications such as smartphones and tablets, the rise of electric vehicles and power storage systems demands new battery technology with new electrode materials and electrolytes. ECS student member Michael Metzger is looking to address that issue by developing a new battery test cell that can investigate anionic and cationic reactions separately. Along with Benjamin Strehle, Sophie Slochenbach, and ECS Fellow Hubert A….
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A team of researchers at Case Western Reserve University is building a flow battery prototype to provide cleaner, cheaper power. The team, co-led by ECS member Bob Savinell, is working to scale up the technology in order develop a practical, efficient energy storage device that can store excess electricity and potentially augment the grid in light of a shift toward renewables. With a $1.17 million federal grant, the team has started to build a 1-kilowatt prototype with enough power to…
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