Renesas’s new battery management IC maximizes range for hybrids and EVs


Japanese semiconductor manufacturer Renesas Electronics has announced its fourth-generation Li-ion battery management integrated circuit (IC). The company says its new ISL78714 IC provides accurate cell voltage and temperature monitoring, cell balancing, and extensive system diagnostics to protect 14-cell Li-ion battery packs, all while maximizing drive time and range for hybrid and electric vehicles. The ISL78714… Read more »

New coating process allows faster production of battery electrodes


Researchers at Germany’s prestigious Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have created a new coating process that produces electrodes for lithium-ion batteries at record speed. The researchers say the new process also improves the quality of electrodes and reduces production costs. When manufacturing battery electrodes, a thin paste of electrode material is applied to a copper… Read more »

MIT researchers demonstrate new way to make thin-film lithium-rich ceramic electrolytes


Researchers at MIT have come up with a new pulsed laser deposition technique to make thinner lithium electrolytes using less heat, which they say promises faster charging and potentially higher-voltage solid-state lithium-ion batteries. Key to the new technique for processing the solid-state battery electrolyte is alternating layers of the active electrolyte lithium garnet component (LLZO)… Read more »

UCLouvain discovers new solid-state material with high lithium diffusion coefficient


As research into solid-state lithium batteries continues, researchers at Belgium’s Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain) say they’ve found a new solid material, LTPS, in which lithium can travel more easily than in any other solid electrolyte. The results are published in the scientific journal Chem from Cell Press. Lithium ions are much less mobile in… Read more »

BMW 225xe PHEV gets a better battery

Following the BMW 530e, the BMW 225xe Active Tourer is now also available with the latest battery cell technology upgrade. The new battery increases the electric range of the BMW 225xe Active Tourer by more than 25 per cent to up to 53 kilometres. BMW now states the combined consumption at 1.7 to 1.9 litres […]

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Researchers create air-stable, waterproof wax coating for lithium metal anodes


Lithium metal is a promising new material for battery electrodes, thanks to its high specific capacity and low voltage, but safety issues caused by dendrite growth and instability in air caused by its high chemical activity limit its large-scale use as an electrode material. However, a simple and efficient solution could be on the way… Read more »

OXIS Energy to produce Li-S battery cells for Bye Aerospace


Battery manufacturer OXIS Energy is partnering with electric aviation pioneer Bye Aerospace to produce Li-S battery cells for Bye’s future aircraft. The cells will be designed to have the higher energy density required for such aircraft. The project is scheduled to launch in September 2019. Huw Hampson-Jones, CEO of OXIS Energy, said, “Aviation is one… Read more »

Battery startup Intecells closes Series A funding round


Battery manufacturing equipment startup Intecells has closed a Series A funding round led by Walden International and atmospheric plasma technology company Plasmatreat. Founded in 2017, Intecells is a joint venture between Plasmatreat and Architected Batteries Unbound, which licenses battery electrode fabrication technology and cell integration using atmospheric plasma. The startup will use the funding to… Read more »

Continental carefully realigns toward electrification

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Continental announced intent to focus its drive business more strongly on electrification, but is refraining from earlier considerations of entering into the production of solid-state battery cells. So far, the company had left this possibility open. Within the drive mix, Continental is anticipating a variety of dynamics. The market for high-voltage components and solutions for […]

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Bosch developing cloud-based service to help prolong battery life


In an attempt to prolong EV battery life, Bosch is developing new cloud services that supplement individual vehicles’ battery-management systems. The company calls the new service Battery in the Cloud. Its first customer is DiDi, a gargantuan Chinese mobility provider, which is equipping a pilot vehicle fleet with Bosch battery services in the city of… Read more »