Here are humanity’s best ideas on how to store energy
Historically, the vast majority of the world’s power has been consumed as quickly as it is made, or it's wasted. But climate change has made governments interested in renewable energy, and renewable energy is variable—it can't be dispatched on demand. Or can it? As research into utility-sized batteries receives more attention, the economics of adding storage to a grid or wind farm are starting to make more sense. But grid-tied energy storage is not new; it has just always bee
Exide India to make Li-ion batteries
Betting big on the electric vehicle’s future in the country, leading battery maker, Exide Batteries, is planning to set up a lithium ion battery plant by next year. The company has tied up with Chinese major Chaowei Group for its technology and will start the production of the batteries by 2019. “It’s a technology partnership for design and manufacture of Lithium Ion batteries with Zhejiang Chaowei Chuangyan Shiye Co Ltd Group. The deal was signed at the beginning of this yea
Batteries Replace Generator on Viking Princess
A hybrid energy system has been installed on board Viking Princess making it the first offshore supply vessel where batteries have reduced the number of generators on board. Viking Princess completed sea trials and the system was handed over to Eidesvik Offshore on October 9, 2017. She provides supplies to oil rigs in the North Sea and Barents Sea. The five-year old vessel runs on LNG-powered Wärtsilä engines. Depending on the ongoing task and weather conditions, the engine l
Wärtsilä believes energy storage is ‘only answer’ to India’s grid problems
Finland-based power firm Wärtsilä, which is active in the renewable energy and energy storage markets, plans to enter the Indian energy storage market, citing “looming” grid management challenges in the country. Some Indian states, particularly in the south where energy demand is lower, already have high penetrations of renewable energy and grid integration is becoming increasingly stressed. Curtailment is a regular feature of wind and solar operators' lives in the state of T
Paving the way for a lithium battery that uses an asphalt electrode
Most of the batteries we use, from our cell phones to our cars, rely on using lithium ions. As a result, their capacity is largely a product of how much lithium you can stuff into a given volume. Obviously, using a pure lithium electrode would provide the highest density possible. But there has been no way to control where the lithium ends up as a battery goes through charge/discharge cycles. The typical result is a set of lithium metal spines that short the whole system out.
From disasters to freight, this driverless fuel cell platform has it covered
On Monday, General Motors gave us a quick look at a new fuel cell EV platform it's developing, called SURUS. It stands for Silent Utility Rover Universal Superstructure, and it's a large driverless vehicle—about the size of a shipping container—that GM thinks could work in a range of applications, including mobile and emergency power generation, cargo delivery, and even military use. We weren't allowed to take any photos of it, but on Friday GM made it public. SURUS is powere
ABC - Kuala Lumpur: September 2017
Thank you to all our customers for coming out to visit us at our booth at the ABC Conference in Kuala Lumpur last month!
Elon Musk says he can rebuild Puerto Rico's power grid with solar
Renewable energy entrepreneur Elon Musk says he could rebuild Puerto Rico's shattered electrical infrastructure with his solar energy technology. The vast majority of the island territory remains without power, weeks after it was hit by Hurricane Maria. On Twitter, Mr Musk said his technology, which powers several smaller islands, could be scaled up to work for Puerto Rico. The island's governor responded to Mr Musk with the message: "Let's talk". "Do you want to show the wor
Vietnam's Pinaco and Japan's Furukawa Battery form partnership
Vietnam's Dry Cell & Storage Battery, better known as Pinaco, and Japan's Furukawa Battery plan to become strategic partners, and will sign an agreement by the end of the year, according to a letter sent to Pinaco shareholders this week. The five-year agreement covers Furukawa Battery's technical input, its rights to assign representatives to Pinaco's board, and its rights to buy shares that become available. The Japanese company already owns 10.54% of Pinaco, and is its seco
India's Tata to build 1,000 electric vehicle charging spots
NEW DELHI -- Tata Power looks to establish a network of 1,000 electric-vehicle charging terminals here in the Indian capital in five years, responding to the national government's plans to ban sales of gasoline- and diesel-engine vehicles by 2030. The subsidiary of the Tata Group, India's No. 1 conglomerate, will tackle the ambitious project through a joint venture with the national capital territory of Delhi. Tata Power Delhi Distribution, or Tata Power-DDL, now operates jus
