Batteries

FREYR Battery announced the establishment of a technology resources campus and business unit in Japan. The new business unit is the company's first physical location in Asia and will focus on efforts to facilitate and scale-up FREYR's testing and development of the 24M Technologies battery platform.

IDTechEx attended The Battery Show, one of the biggest conferences and exhibits for companies working in anything battery related. The conference and exhibition was held live in Stuttgart, Germany from 28th-30th June 2022. This premium article provides an overview of some of the key thermal management materials being presented at the exhibition. This includes thermal interface materials, gap fillers, insulative foams, aerogels, and fire suppression technologies.

With lithium prices over five times higher than they were a year ago, researchers have developed a material for sodium-ion batteries, which offer an alternative to the increasingly expensive lithium-ion tech. The new material is a powder of sodium-vanadium phosphate fluoride with a particular crystal structure. Used in the battery cathode, it provides record-high energy storage capacity, eliminating one of the bottlenecks of the emerging sodium-ion technology.

A team of researchers have developed a water-activated disposable paper battery. The researchers suggest that it could be used to power a wide range of low-power, single-use disposable electronics - such as smart labels for tracking objects, environmental sensors and medical diagnostic devices - and minimize their environmental impact.

Nidec ASI, part of the Energy & Infrastructure Division of the Nidec Group, continues to grow in Europe, this time providing Battery Energy Storage System solutions for a major project in Northern Ireland, UK. This plant meets new global environmental and energy needs and the growing demand for renewable energy sources which, thanks to energy storage solutions, can become even more widespread, thus contributing to, and accelerating, the energy transition from fossil fuels to solar, wind and hydro power.

On.Energy has been awarded the deployment and operation for a Battery Energy Storage System and Energy Management System in an isolated microgrid application for Solar Axiom at the Turtle Island Beach Resort.

Brill Power, an Oxford University spin-out company, announced the conclusion of its Series A round raising $10.5m today to support its mission to make batteries smarter, cleaner, safer and longer-lasting as a critical element of the shift to zero emissions energy. The funding will support team growth and new product development to expand presence in both static energy storage and the automotive sectors.

Cheap and abundant, sodium is a prime promising candidate for new battery technology. But limited performance of sodium-ion batteries has hindered their large-scale applications. Now, a research team has developed a sodium-ion battery with greatly extended longevity in laboratory tests. An ingenious shift in the ingredients that make up the liquid core of the battery prevents the performance issues that have bedeviled sodium-based batteries.

Volkswagen Group broke the ground for its first cell factory in Salzgitter. Production will start in 2025. With immediate effect, responsibility for global battery business is to be held by the newly created company "PowerCo". In addition to cell production, the new company will be responsible for activities along the entire battery value chain.