Hofer Powertrain, dedicated to advanced electromobility and energy storage solutions, presented its BlueFire battery, tested in a racing vehicle with great results.

The research had its starting point when they detected the business opportunity that was opening up with electric vehicle sports competitions, as they foresaw a high demand for very powerful and efficient batteries for motorsport.

With the aforementioned vision, they decided to develop an accumulator platform based on extremely safe cells capable of withstanding charging currents of up to 3.75 megawatts. That is, 3,750 kW of power.

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Invention Attributes

In the case of the BlueFire battery, Hofer Powertrain used its most advanced BMS, while for the recharging point they also decided to start from an already available station equipped with a DC fast-charging CCS socket, but modified so that it could supply 3.75 MWh, about 10 times more than what they usually recharge.

As for the vehicle, they decided to mount their new LTO (lithium titanium oxide) technology battery on a racing kart, which underwent an intense test simulating long-distance races.

The result of the first experience was surprising, because the battery, with a useful capacity of around 40 kWh and which the electric go-kart drained every 10 and a half minutes (at race pace, three laps on the circuit where Hofer Powertrain conducted the test), could be recharged at each pit stop in less than 90 seconds, the time needed to go from zero to 80% of its capacity.

This would already allow its application to the world of motor racing; and even to endurance tests, with up to 24 hours of duration, as the kart used in the test would complete 1,000 laps of the track, with about 350 consecutive charge and discharge cycles of its BlueFire battery.

The Teutonic company sees potential in everyday use, where batteries and chargers of this type located next to fast tracks would allow recharging as fast as refueling a vehicle with a combustion engine. However, they remain focused on their first objective, linked to competition.

Apparently, after the test with the kart, they have carried out other tests at different scales that allow them to be very optimistic about a next LMD prototype like those used in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but equipped with 100% electric mechanics and that could recharge its batteries even faster, since the short-term plan of the engineers is to achieve charges from 5 to 85% in just over a minute.

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The elements that make up the batteries of electric vehicles are under constant study to optimize recharging processes. In this sense, an innovation was presented by the U.S. startup Enovix, which is working on a silicon anode battery design that is capable of recovering 98% of its capacity in just 10 minutes and withstand 1,000 charge and discharge cycles.

The process replaces the graphite in battery cell anodes with a 3D-molded silicon architecture. Silicon stands out as an alternative material to graphite because of its far superior energy storage potential.

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During tests carried out on June 13, Enovix announced that it had succeeded in demonstrating that its battery can be recharged to 80% in just 5.2 minutes and reach 98% in less than 10 minutes.

Innovation Details

Unlike the horizontally wound structure of a conventional lithium-ion cell, the 3D architecture allows for a reduction in the stainless steel required to apply pressure to the packaging and maintain the connection of the silicon particles. The result is a significant increase in energy density and battery life.

Enovix has also worked on the packaging process. The standard production procedure for lithium-ion batteries is replaced by an electrode winding method using patented laser design tools, which increases the speed of cell stacking and increases the capacity of the production line by 30%.

For Enovix Co-Founder, CEO and President Harrold Rust, fast charging can accelerate the mass adoption of electric vehicles. He asserts that as electric vehicle manufacturers seek batteries with longer ranges, the public and private sectors are working to increase access to a widespread and reliable fast charging network.

“We are proud to support these goals to help electrify the automotive industry and demonstrate that our batteries are an exciting option for powering long-range, fast-charging electric vehicles,” added Rust.

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A long time ago, several Tesla users reported fires in the batteries of their electric cars, and while it is not something common, it could happen at any time. For this reason, having a formula to counteract this situation if it happen is vital, and this scientist have achieved through this study by preventing the dendrites that cause short circuits with the damaged cells and spread the fire to the rest of the package.

Dendrites are tiny tree-shaped structures that grow inside the lithium battery as needle-like projections. When this happens, it could penetrate the separator that prevents the electrodes (cathode and anode) from touching each other, in addition to increasing unwanted reactions, accelerating unit failures.

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Such a junction between the cathode and anode could generate a short circuit that ignites the battery and spreads throughout the unit and so on. However, researchers at the University of Singapore developed an extra layer, as a kind of shield, which is located in the separator to avoid the contact mentioned above.

The researchers’ method is interesting in how it is approached, because instead of avoiding or generating a system to avoid the dendrites formation, the scientists chose to block the effects that this element can generate by covering the electrode separator with an extra layer of conductive material.

According to the research data, more than 50 tests were carried out, none of which produced short circuits, providing an encouraging picture regarding the advancement of safety in electrified vehicles. Now, integrating this technology in cars would imply a minimum increase of 5% in the cost of production, which generates peace of mind knowing that it is not an expensive new system.

Written by | Ronald Ortega

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It has 1,260 Wh capacity and 1,800 W output power. The technology is nothing more than an NCM Lithium-ion battery with a high nickel content. Due to its high energy density, it can easily act as an emergency generator in case of a power failure, activating just 30 milliseconds after the outage.

According to the creators, at its maximum capacity it can charge a camera 35 times, a drone 12 times or power a TV for 6 hours. When charging it, you can choose to connect it to the electric grid, where it will be replenished from 0 to 80% in one hour, or use solar panels.

Ideal to go camping and leave the chaos of the city, or take it anywhere. The truth is that because of the extensive features it can be of great help to every family, but the big detail is the price, $ 1,000, but surely it is worth investing in something like the EcoFlow Delta mini.

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About EcoFlow

EcoFlow was founded back in 2017, by entrepreneurs who emerged from a leading drone developer where they worked to fine-tune the drone’s battery to be lightweight, durable and, most importantly, powerful. Now, the company is leveraging this knowledge and experience to create products that are carefully designed, crafting powerful, intelligent and industry-first energy storage solutions.

Written by | Ronald Ortega

The post New Portable Battery Powered by the Sun appeared first on Green Racing News.

Whittingham, with John B. Goodenough and Akira Yoshino, discovered the reversible electrode intercalation mechanism which opened the door to lithium-ion batteries, essential elements for today’s vehicular transport and beyond. Furthermore, their contribution was so outstanding that they received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2019.

British-American by descent, this outstanding scientist was born on December 22, 1941 in Nottingham, England. He attended Stamford School from 1951 to 1960, while chemistry knocked on his door when he attended Oxford University, obtaining a BA (1964), MA (1967), and DPhil (1968).

Stanley Whittingham’s Work

He was able to create the first lithium-ion battery in 1976, with metallic lithium at the anode and Titanium disulfide intercalated with lithium ions at the cathode with a strength of 2.5 volts, initiating (unknowingly) a scenario which significantly contributed to automakers who turned to this material for the electric vehicle power source.

However, the task was not easy, because lithium is an unstable and highly reactive chemical element. In fact, it is capable of burning under normal atmospheric conditions after combining with oxygen and water. So it took a long time to find a solution that would make this material a safe source to work with.

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In order to achieve stability, lithium metal was replaced with compounds of it that would tolerate lithium ion release. Although, as mentioned above, it was not until 2019 when they received worldwide prestige and recognition for this development.

This material is currently present in electronic devices (cell phones, tablets, etc.) and electric vehicles which have been part of society for decades. Also, it can store considerable amounts of wind and solar energy, in order to contribute for a society free from pollutant fuels, such as gasoline and diesel.

Written by | Ronald Ortega

The post Electromobility’s debt to Stanley Whittingham appeared first on Green Racing News.

Lithium-ion batteries have many advantages, but an Achilles’ heel spoiling the positive factors: The dendrites, as these pieces get a sharp shape with a considerable edge which may perforate the battery affecting the integrity, shortening its useful life and becoming a problem to be improved.

This new concept is a solid lithium metal battery developed by a group of scientists and researchers from Harvard University who sought to solve this problem by analyzing the dendrite structure and formation, assuring they found a timely answer.

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Solid Lithium-Metal Battery

The scientists produced a lithium-metal battery using solid-state metals to replace lithium ions, removing completely the dendrites causing so many problems in electric vehicles. In addition, they assure the new proposal makes the energy source more stable than graphite or liquid materials.

The secret behind the problem consists of considering any chemical-level gaps with “dynamically generated breakdowns” to halt dendrite formation, as revealed by a study published in Nature.

“Our multilayer design has a structure of a less stable electrolyte intercalated between more stable solid electrolytes, preventing the growth of lithium dendrites.”

However, there is still a long way to go regarding this research, considering the fact that lithium-metal batteries have also been experimented with in the past, but with no success, as they exploded after becoming unstable, although the Harvard University results are quite promising for the future.

“This battery technology could increase the electric vehicle lifetime from 10 to 15 years without replacing the battery, even for gasoline-powered vehicles. Due to its high power density, the battery could clear the way for electric vehicles to be fully charged in 10 to 20 minutes,” noted the Harvard press release.

Written by | Ronald Ortega

The post Introducing a battery model that may become primary choice for electric vehicles appeared first on Green Racing News.