An odd partnership emerged at the Waste EXPO 2016 as truck manufacturer Mack Trucks and Tesla Motors joined forces to introduce an electrified garbage truck based on Mack’s LR model. The innovative car manufacturer outfitted the truck with a regenerative braking system, which allows the truck to recharge its battery while it operates. Because of the frequent stopping and start of a garbage truck’s engine, a significant amount of energy is wasted in its day-to-day operation. “We don’t make vehicles,…
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We may understand melanin best as the pigment that dictates our skin tone, but these pigments are actually super plentiful – existing in almost every organism on earth. While melanin is all around us, there is still much to learn about its chemical structure. A group of researchers from Carnegie Mellon University set out to better understand melanin, and in doing so, found that its chemical structure may be conducive to creating certain kinds of batteries. “Functionally, different types of…
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Sharing solutions to today’s most pressing global issues Pennington, NJ – (May 17, 2016) – The Electrochemical Society will be in San Diego May 29 – June 2 hosting the 229th ECS Meeting at the Hilton Bayfront and San Diego Convention Center. Over 2,400 attendees will discuss topics in batteries and energy storage, corrosion science and technology, electronics, fuel cells and energy conversion, carbon nanostructures, sensors, and more. The 229th ECS Meeting is a forum for sharing the latest scientific…
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As far back as 1839, the English scientist William Grove had the idea that the reactants of a battery could be gases fed into it from external tanks. For most of their history, fuel cells existed only as laboratory curiosities. But fuel cells have gained much more attention in recent years, with many considering these power sources for applications in vehicles and alternative grid technology. New research from Harvard University shows just how promising fuel cell technology could be. According…
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In late 2015, a team of Cambridge University researchers led by ECS member Clare Grey, detailed research in the journal Science on the path to the “ultimate” battery. According to the study, the researchers stated they had successfully demonstrated how to overcome many of the problems preventing the theoretically promising lithium-air battery from being commercially viable. The key component to this research relies on a highly porous, “fluffy” carbon electrode made from graphene. The researchers cautioned that although the preliminary…
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Two ECS members from Drexel University have recently been awarded for their exemplary work in the sciences. Yuri Gogosti, Fellow of ECS and advisor of the Drexel ECS Student Chapter, has been awarded the 2016 Nano Energy Award. The award, presented by the journal Nano Energy, recognizes outstanding research in the field of nano energy, whose work reflects the interdisciplinary nature of the field and helps solves major energy problems facing society. Gogostsi’s work is highly regarded in the scientific…
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Recognized for being a key figure in developing an industry leading battery for high power applications such as power tools, Blomgren currently provides consulting services worldwide in the field of battery technology and applications for many companies. Along with authoring 30 book chapters and chapters on batteries for Kirk Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, Ullmann’s Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, and the Encyclopedia of Physics – Blomgren also holds 20 patents and has over 30 journal publications. Blomgren had a 41-year…
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Steven Visco is currently the founder and chief executive officer of PolyPlus Battery Company, which he co-founded in 1991 to research and develop next generation batteries. Visco’s company was selected by TIME magazine in its “50 Best Inventions” issue, as well as awarded the Gold Edison Award in 2012. Aside from his role at PolyPlus Battery Company, Visco also serves as a guest scientist in the Materials Science Division at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, where his research interests have…
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Emanuel Peled is known among the scientific community as the inventor and developer of the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) model for nonaqueous alkali-metal batteries. His in-depth exploration of battery throughout his career has allowed him to develop unique state of charge meter (residual capacity) for lithium batteries in his laboratory and was manufactured by a startup company Chemtronics, for which he was a co-founder. While here, he and his team also developed high power hydrogen bromine fuel cells, direct methanol…
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Robert Kostecki is often recognized for his groundbreaking work in the field of electrochemical energy storage and conversion systems, photocatalysis and water treatment technologies, which often helped bridge the gap between fundamental science and applications of significant technological importance. As a pioneer in advanced characterization of electrochemical interface in lithium-ion batteries, his research interests focus on fundamental interfacial phenomena that determine the function and performance of electrical energy storage systems, including degradation modes and failure mechanisms. Among his many scientific...
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