I am proposing a new solution to the algae biofuel industry. Using electrical stimulation, I have created biodiesel from algae for $0.96/gallon. Come view this presentation of my project

in Biomass Power Production Biobutanol Biodiesel Algae Fuels Biomass to Liquid Batteries Biodiversity Agri Waste Management Anaerobic Digestion of Waste Bioremediation Batteries for Electric Vehicles Biopolymers and Bioplastics Biotechnology Biomimicry

Researchers have their sights set on longer lived Li-ion batteries, using EMSL’s TEM resources to help look for ways to counter anode capacity fade. Their work is featured in the March 26, 2012 issue of C&E News. - http://www.emsl.pnnl.gov/news/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=354

in Batteries

Through extensive testing I've performed over the last 2 months, I've concluded that the method of Low Energy Voltaic Impulse(LEVI) destroys specific protein channels along the cell wall membrane, allowing for lipid bodies (and some cytoplasmic fluids) to be secreted by the cell. By pumping this device with 120 gallons of water I was able to produce 4.35 Liters of lipid bodies which converted to 4.1 Liters of diesel fuel via transesterification. To run down 2 D cell batteries, I needed to perform this test 82 times producing just over 90 gallons of diesel fuel, and the lowest cost fuel conversion price of $0.03

in Biodiesel Algae Fuels Batteries Cleantech Education in Schools Biotechnology

Some energy storage methods - Include:
* pumped hydropower and compressed air storage
* flywheels
* Superconducting magnets
* Supercapacitors and ultracapacitors
* Batteries
* Advanced electrochemical capacitors -

in Batteries

Eos says zinc battery recipe is energy game-changer - http://www.physorg.com/news/2012-01-eos-zinc-battery-recipe-energy.html

in Batteries

Your next device could be powered by the paper you throw away. - http://news.discovery.com/tech/sony-paper-powered-battery-111215.html#mkcpgn=rssnws1

in Batteries

Nexeon has created the silicon powder that it hopes is the key to creating batteries on a commercial level, which will be used in everything from laptops to cars.
The new technology started in 2004, 53 miles away, in the department of electrical engineering at Imperial College London, when Professor Mino Green found the key to what Nexeon believes is the next generation in lithium ion batteries.
This "magic" dust is a powder created by running silver through particles of silicon to create spikes of matter – what Nexeon calls a hedgehog effect – that is used to help the movement of lithium in the battery cell. The powers of the silicon powder mean that, unlike carbon-only anodes, the batteries created from this will last longer, are lighter, and their rechargeability would not fade over time.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/nexeon-tips-magic-dust-into-our-batteries-6271847.html

in Batteries Batteries for Electric Vehicles

A team of researchers from Northwestern University, have discovered a way to make battery charging far more quicker and efficient. The lithium-ion battery electrode allows 10 times the capacity of today’s batteries and charges 10 times faster. It is expected to be available in the market in 3-5 years. The research titled “In-Plane Vacancy-Enabled High-Power Si-Graphene Composite Electrode for Lithium-Ion Batteries”, was published in the “Advanced Energy Materials” journal.
The researchers achieved this extra-ordinary result by layering silicon between graphene sheets and then creating small holes, up to 10-20 nm wide in the sheets, using chemical oxidation, terming it “in-plane defects” process. This offers the lithium ion a ‘shortcut’ into the anode and can result in faster charging. The research also found that the battery remained highly effective, by nearly 5 times than today’s lithium ion batteries, even after 150 charges, which would mean a usage time of 1-1.5 years.

http://www.cleantick.com/portal/news/pages/1300

in Batteries Batteries for Electric Vehicles

Batteries turn intermittent wind into a steady stream of power - The 98 megawatt (MW) Laurel Mountain wind facility is storing excess energy in a huge 32 MW bank of lithium-ion batteries, the use of which is bringing the price down, while size and performance is improving.
http://www.matternetwork.com/2011/11/w-virginia-wind-farm-proves.cfm

in Batteries Onshore Wind

Berkeley Lab to Build Cost Model for Fuel Cells « Berkeley Lab News Center - http://newscenter.lbl.gov/feature-stories/2011/11/01/cost-model-for-fuel-cells/

in Batteries Fuel Cells

Arguments for solar and wind power are so enticing (endless availability, no pollution and so on) that it’s easy to see why the idea of transitioning the world economy to alternative energy over the next 40 years keeps gaining favor. - http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-17/for-alternative-energy-storage-makes-the-difference-in-reliability-view.html

in Batteries

http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/science_nation/wastetoenergy.jsp?WT.mc_id=USNSF_51

in Batteries Biotechnology

Liquid Metal Battery, a company pursuing a breakthrough batterydesign, has attracted Bill Gates and an oil driller as seed investors, reports CNET. We’ve contacted the firm for comment.

The inventor of the core technology for the battery is Don Sadoway, MIT Professor of Materials Chemistry, one of the school’s most popularprofessors and sought-after speakers.

Here is what we wrote about Sadoway and his invention back in March:

http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/mits-don-sadoway-on-energy-storage-and-his-liquid-battery/

Sadoway has challenged the research community to invent a colossal yetcheap battery. He directed researchers to look at the economy of scaleof modern electrometallurgy and the aluminum smelter, which handles theholy grail of batteries — achieving a high current while maintainingmassive scale.

Why is an aluminum cell not a battery? You have to produce liquid metals at both electrodes.

Making metal at the cathode is trivial, but making metal at the anodeis not so trivial. So Sadoway went back to the Periodic Table and usedmagnesium to "intimidate" antimony into behaving like a non-metal. Fromthere, using seed money from within MIT, Sadoway and his team inventedthe liquid metal battery or, more academically, a process called"Reversible Ambipolar Electrolysis."

http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/bill-gates-and-total-invest-in-sadoways-liquid-metal-battery

in Batteries

Energy Storage Industry Grows To Integrate Wind, Solar

Grid-scale energy storage is gaining momentum as batteries, flywheels and compressed air systems begin proving they can regulate frequency and ancillary services with the same efficiency of "spinning reserves" from fossil fuel-fired power plants.

"We still hear people say storage isn't ready for primetime, but that isn't the case because we already have 20-MW storage plants being built all over the country," said Brad Roberts, executive director of the Electricity Storage Association (ESA).

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2011/08/energy-storage-industry-grows-to-integrate-wind-solar

in Batteries

21st-Century, Stable, Thermal Energy Storage

The "dawn of new idea" may be a clich� that is appropriate to recent developments in photo chemical energy storage. Researchers at MIT have been working on ways to store the sun's energy in chemical bonds. These developments have been characterized as a "heat battery" or a "solar fuel." This development could very likely see another MIT spin-off in the energy storage business (like A123 systems).

The claim of a "game-changing" or "disruptive" technology should not be made lightly. Also, we should be reasonable in our expectations. Cell phones, personal computing and the Internet were certainly game-changing technologies, but they arrived on the scene in a virtual vacuum. As we begin to wake up to the advantages of energy storage, we find that the scene is also crowded with competing technologies. Heat energy storage is also as old as the Earth. The uniqueness of MIT's research becomes clear with a little background.

http://cleantechnica.com/2011/07/29/21st-century-stable-thermal-energy-storage/

in Batteries

Aquion Energy takes plunge into bulk grid storage

To make a cheap battery that stores wind and solar power, Aquion Energy is using the ingredients in salt and water.

A spinoff out of Carnegie Mellon, the start-up has raised $20 million of a planned $30 million funding round, according to a regulatory filing spotted by Earth2Tech. The company was originally funded with $5 million from the federal stimulus program by the Department of Energy and has added Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers as an investor.

Aquion Energy is developing a room-temperature sodium ion battery as an alternative to lithium ion and other batteries for grid storage. One of the advantages of sodium ion batteries is cost. Sodium, one of the ingredients in salt, is far more abundant than lithium. Aquion Energy's batteries use a water-based electrolyte, which is easier to work with and simplifies the manufacturing process.

Sodium sulfur batteries are one of the preferred technologies for storing wind and solar power or other grid applications. But sodium sulfur batteries run at high temperatures, making them less energy efficient and safe than ambient-temperature batteries. Lead acid batteries, meanwhile, result in the release of toxic lead.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-20081944-54/aquion-energy-takes-plunge-into-bulk-grid-storage/

in Batteries

Fight Brewing Over Off-Grid Energy Storage, Says Lux

Battery, flywheel, ultracapacitor and fuel cell developers need to act now if they wish to tap the $4B market for off-grid applications, says Lux Research. Struggling to get their feet in the door of transportation and grid-tied markets, emerging electrical storage developers have begun eying off-grid opportunities as a way to attain scale and lower costs. But the off-grid market represents a rapidly closing window of opportunity for emerging storage - only developers who take immediate and intelligent action will capture a meaningful share of the market, according to a new report by Lux Research.

https://portal.luxresearchinc.com/research/report_excerpt/8208

in Batteries

Is it true that 100% (or close to 100%) of lead used in lead acid batteries is recycled? Is this true for every country?

in Batteries

Mercedes and Li-ion batteries - Mercedes will be the first manufacturer to mass produce a hybrid vehicles with lithium ion batteries. - http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/09/25/continental-starts-production-of-lithium-ion-batteries/

in Batteries

Chemically Modified Graphene in Energy Storage Apps - Chemically modified graphenes with good electrical conductivity and very large surface areas, are extremely promising candidates for EDLC ultracapacitors. Our results applying these materials to ultracapacitors show they are compatible with commonly used electrolyte systems. In addition, these CMG materials are based on abundantly available graphite. Ultracapacitors based on these materials could have cost and performance that would accelerate adoption in a wide range of energy storage apps - http://jcwinnie.biz/wordpress/?p=3235

in Batteries