AI to dramatically accelerate scientific discovery

PNNL kicks off multi-year energy storage, scientific discovery collaboration with Microsoft

11-Jan-2024 - The urgent need to meet global clean energy goals has world leaders searching for faster solutions. To meet that call, the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has teamed with Microsoft to use high-performance computing in the cloud and advanced artificial intelligence to ...

A leap in using silicon for battery anodes

Novel nanostructure design lends extraordinary strength to a promising storage ingredient

30-Apr-2020 - The same material you'll find at the tip of a pencil--graphite--has long been a key component in today's lithium-ion batteries. As our reliance on these batteries increases, however, graphite-based electrodes are due for an upgrade. For that, scientists are looking to the element at the heart of ...

Expanding the temperature range of lithium-ion batteries

24-Jun-2019 - Electric cars struggle with extreme temperatures, mainly because of impacts on the electrolyte solutions in their lithium-ion batteries. Now, researchers have developed new electrolytes containing multiple additives that work better over a wide temperature range. Lithium-ion batteries are widely ...

Tweaking electrolyte makes better lithium-metal batteries

03-Mar-2017 - Scientists have found adding a pinch of something new to a battery's electrolyte gives the energy storage devices more juice per charge than today's commonly used rechargeable batteries. New, early-stage research shows adding a small amount of the chemical lithium hexafluorophosphate to a ...

Cleaning up hybrid battery electrodes improves capacity and lifespan

25-Apr-2016 - Hybrid batteries that charge faster than conventional ones could have significantly better electrical capacity and long-term stability when prepared with a gentle-sounding way of making electrodes. Called ion soft-landing, the high-precision technique resulted in electrodes that could store a ...

New flow battery offers lower-cost energy storage

23-Dec-2015 - Energy storage system owners could see significant savings from a new flow battery technology that is projected to cost 60 percent less than today's standard flow batteries. The organic aqueous flow battery is expected to cost $180 per kilowatt-hour once the technology is fully developed. The ...

Silicon sponge improves lithium-ion battery performance

Increasing battery's storage capacity could allow laptops, electric vehicles to run longer

10-Jul-2014 - The lithium-ion batteries that power our laptops and electric vehicles could store more energy and run longer on a single charge with the help of a sponge-like silicon material. Researchers developed the porous material to replace the graphite traditionally used in one of the battery's ...

Battery development may extend range of electric cars

New anode quadruples life of lithium-sulfur battery, could also help store renewable energy more cheaply

13-Jan-2014 - It's known that electric vehicles could travel longer distances before needing to charge and more renewable energy could be saved for a rainy day if lithium-sulfur batteries can just overcome a few technical hurdles. Now, a novel design for a critical part of the battery has been shown to ...

Batteries as they are meant to be seen

03-Jan-2014 - Researchers have developed a way to microscopically view battery electrodes while they are bathed in wet electrolytes, mimicking realistic conditions inside actual batteries. While life sciences researchers regularly use transmission electron microscopy to study wet environments, this time ...

Wax, soap clean up obstacles to better batteries

Paraffin and surfactant oleic acid improve synthesis of lithium manganese phosphate electrodes

17-Aug-2010 - A little wax and soap can help build electrodes for cheaper lithium ion batteries, according to a study in August 11 issue of Nano Letters. The one-step method will allow battery developers to explore lower-priced alternatives to the lithium ion-metal oxide batteries currently on the ...