Electric car batteries are a crucial component in the development of electric vehicles (EVs) and have seen significant advancements in recent years. For example the volumetric energy density of lithium-ion batteries has increased eightfold since 2008, from around 55 watt-hours/litre to 450 watt-hours/litre in 2020. At the same time the cost of lithium-ion battery
John Goodenough is not a household name, yet the majority of households in the developed world make use of his discoveries virtually every day. It was Professor Goodenough who oversaw the major breakthrough in lithium ion battery technology during his time at Oxford University where he brewed the secret sauce for modern lithium batteries back in the late seventies
The case for electric cars may seem clear to many of us, even while the authorities and sworn petrol-heads refuse to see sense. The truth is that we rely on a handful of visionary industrialists and politicians to invest in infrastructure, publicity and incentives while we try to enjoy the benefits and spread the word
The astonishing success of the launch of the Tesla Model 3 with over 325,000 pre-orders in one week has caused ripples throughout the automotive industry. The runaway success of a vehicle that will not be delivered for two years and possibly longer marks the end of the beginning to the change in our toxic
You may already have heard of inductive or wireless charging. Some consumer electronic devices have this capability. It simply means transferring energy using an electromagnetic field and has been known about since the days of Nikolai Tesla who invented the Tesla coil in 1891. This type of technology is also being developed for charging
You may already have heard of the Brighsun Bus with a range over 1000kms on a single charge. The launch of this extraordinary vehicle took place in Yuroke which is an hour's drive north of Melbourne CBD last Friday 30th October. The launch was attended by Greg Hunt, Minister for the Environment who confirmed the bus
Nissan unveiled an autonomous concept car at the Tokyo motor show currently running in Japan, that points to the second wave of disruption about to hit the auto industry (the first being electric vehicles). This electric concept indicates the ability for autonomous driving as well as driver control at the press of a button when required. The video promo
Not surprisingly with the amount of money in battery R&D, technological breakthroughs are happening on a regular basis. Many of these 'breakthroughs' will for whatever reasons not make it to market. We have reported on a number of battery technologies that look very promising and one that seems to be improving rapidly simply blows away the 'hours
Tesla Motors have signed an exclusive 5 year research agreement with Dahn Labs. Dahn Labs are a battery research group at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada headed up by professor Jeff Dahn. Global battery research has undergone a transformation over the past decade as the advent of electric vehicles and battery storage expand
We've reported quite a bit about batteries over the years with a lot of hopeful technologies promising greater energy density, lower costs and improved performance. Battery research has been frantic in the last few years with many organisations from IBM to leading universities to various startups vying for the holy grail of cheap, environmentally and operationally safe,