Battery Power - May/June 2013 - (Page 4)

Editor’s Choice Polaris Battery Labs and Carestream Tollcoating Form Alliance Polaris Battery Labs, LLC, a prototyping and process development resource for lithium ion battery products, and Carestream Tollcoating, a provider of precision contract manufacturing coating services, are joining forces to help customers accelerate the launch of new battery materials and technologies. The collaboration leverages the capabilities of both companies for customers interested in anode and cathode electrode development and processing, as well as new separator membranes. Working together, Polaris and Carestream Tollcoating will help customers overcome common roadblocks to commercializing their inventions, including generating samples for investors, reducing time to market and minimizing capital and operational risks. The partnership will make it possible for Polaris and Carestream Tollcoating to help battery startup companies and material developers expedite the commercialization process. Polaris Labs is focused on providing lab scale electrode and cell assembly processing services and battery testing to companies developing core technical advances in lithium ion batteries. By utilizing flexible processing equipment and methods, Polaris can accelerate early optimization efforts, experiment with different formulations and create samples for testing and customer evaluation. Carestream Tollcoating provides contract coating services to aid in the development and manufacturing of novel battery components including precision coating on foils and in casting advanced membrane materials. Carestream Tollcoating will be instrumental in bringing the new product recipes developed by Polaris to commercial scale-up and manufacturing quantities for their customers. Nanostructured Sulfur Electrodes for Long-Life Lithium Batteries Berkeley Lab researcher Elton Cairns has developed a technology that addresses limitations of developing a commercialgrade lithium/sulfur battery. The Berkeley Lab technology uses nanostructured sulfur particles for the positive electrode. These tiny particles are designed to block migration of polysulfides that would otherwise migrate into the electrolyte and bind (as Li2S) to electrode surfaces, sharply degrading performance and shortening battery life. Coin-sized lithium/sulfur cells made with these sulfur nanoparticles are lightweight, long-lasting and have a high specific energy. 4 Battery Power • May/June 2013 The Berkeley Lab technology uses lithium as the material for the negative electrode. Negative electrodes made from butter-like lithium have a theoretical specific capacity that is roughly eight times higher than that of graphite, which is used in most Li-ion cells sold today. The electrolyte is compatible with lithium metal electrodes. Most commercial lithium-ion batteries feature electrodes made of cobalt oxide and other transition-metal oxides, plus carbon. But cobalt oxide is expensive, potentially toxic and unsafe (fire hazard). Research into more practical lithium ion batteries typically centers on the reduced use or elimination of cobalt to lower costs and improve safety. This lithium/sulfur technology is a promising route to batteries that could expand the range of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles to at least 300 miles from the current 100 miles between charges. With Earth-abundant sulfur as its primary material, efficient lithium/sulfur electrodes are low-cost, non-toxic and do not present the environmental and recycling challenges of batteries containing cobalt. Because sulfur is less flammable than other elements, these batteries also address mounting safety concerns surrounding the use of lithium batteries in aircraft, automobiles, tools and consumer electronics. Logic PD Launches Interactive Battery Power Design Tool for Product Designers Logic PD has introduced a free, interactive battery power design tool to help product designers and developers predetermine the battery power requirements for new products. Product dimensions, performance and battery power are critical factors when designing for today’s portable device. End users expect a long battery life for their compact, lightweight, portable device, making power management critical to new product success. Logic PD’s battery power design tool allows users to select a pre-configured product scenario or build their own use case using the defaults provided. Each scenario generates a power budget with typical values in each state. Users can adjust these variables to better mirror their own product requirements. The power budget determines estimated battery life and size. Users can adjust either parameter to see the impact. For ultra-low power applications, users can even see the impact of power harvesting technology. www.BatteryPowerOnline.com http://www.BatteryPowerOnline.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Battery Power - May/June 2013

Polaris Battery Labs and Carestream Tollcoating Form Alliance
Intelligent Enumerating Battery Charger Provides Safe and Fast Charge for Mobile Equipment
Shippers of Lithium Batteries and Equipment Experience Delays as New Air Transport Requirements Take Effect
A New Method for Maintaining the Charge of VRLA Batteries in Telecommunications Standby Systems
Battery Power 2013 Conference Preview
Batteries
ICs & Semiconductors
Charging & Testing
Components & Materials
Industry News
Research & Development
Marketplace

Battery Power - May/June 2013