Author Topic: Lithium ion battery article  (Read 701 times)

Richard230

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Lithium ion battery article
« on: January 27, 2013, 06:30:58 PM »
I found an article in my newspaper by the AP, datelined "Washington", written by Seth Borenstein, titled "Tinkering with lithium ion batteries" kind of interesting. It is a long piece that covers Li-ion batteries in general and is not terribly positive in its comments. A couple of things caught my attention:

Vince Battagglia, a battery scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab says: "We need to leapfrog the engineering of making batteries. We've got to find the next big thing." 

None of the 10 experts who talked to the AP said they know what that big thing will be yet, or when it will come.

Carnegie Mellon University materials science professor, Jay Whitacre, says "If you crack it...it'll change the world".  You can't get around the fundamental thing is that lithium ion batteries are stuffed full of flammable liquid."

The article says that the Obama administration has spent more than $2 billion to jump-start the advanced battery industry, including setting up what some experts say is a mini-Manhattan Project for batteries.

To make the next break-through, researchers will have to master complex chemistry, expensive manufacturing, detailed engineering, a variety of different materials, lengthy testing, stringent safety standards and giant cost problems.  It involves dealing with liquids and solids, metals and organic chemicals, and things that are in between, said Glenn Amatucci, director of the Energy Storage Research Group at Rutgers University. Mr. Amatucci goes on to say: "We're dealing with a system that you can imagine is almost alive,  It's almost breathing. Trying to understand what's happening within these batteries is incredibly complex".

M. Stanley Whittingham, director of the Northeast Center for Chemical Energy Storage says: "If you want high storage, you can't get high power.  People are expecting more than what is possible".

Battery experts are split over what's next. Some think the lithium ion battery can be tinkered with to get major efieicncy and storage improvements.  Amatucci said he thinks we can get two to three times more energy out of future lithium ion batteries, while others said minor chemical changes can do even more.

The man responsible for the 1979 breakthrough that led to the first commercial lithium ion battery in 1991. 90-year old John Goodenough (?) will receive the National Medal of Science at the White House next month
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Richard230

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Re: Lithium ion battery article
« Reply #1 on: January 30, 2013, 12:20:26 PM »
Speaking of Li-ion batteries and the current Dreamliner debacle, which is being reported on by the press almost every day, another interesting article appeared in my newspaper today :

An article by Reuters , written by Deppa Seetharaman, says that Elon Musk, in a January 26 message on Twitter, claimed that he was in talks with the chief engineer of Boeing's 787 Dreamliner. Musk is quoted as saying "Desire to help Boeing is real & am corresponding w 787 chief engineer." Musk told Reuters in an email Monday that SpaceX battery packs could be helpful for Boeing. "We fly high-capacity lithium-ion battery packs in our rockets and spacecraft, which are subject to much higher loads than commercial aircraft and have to function all the way from sea level air pressure to vacuum. We have never had a fire in any production battery pack at either Tesla or SpaceX", Musk said in his email.

Boeing declined to comment or confirm if such discussions were taking place.
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FreepZ

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Re: Lithium ion battery article
« Reply #2 on: January 30, 2013, 12:39:36 PM »
Heh heh. Perhaps Elon is getting a toe in the door for his next adventure: Airplanes! Cars: Check. Rockets: Check. Planes: ..?

He probably has his hands too full with his other projects to start an airplane company, but if he can be the battery supplier for Boeing, that wouldn't hurt at all.
Richard #935 #595 #44

Richard230

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Re: Lithium ion battery article
« Reply #3 on: January 30, 2013, 06:26:34 PM »
It was reported in a post on elmoto that Boeing told Musk that he could take his offer of help and shove it.  :(

Why am I not surprised?   ::)
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FreepZ

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Re: Lithium ion battery article
« Reply #4 on: February 01, 2013, 09:26:44 AM »
I hope that arrogance doesn't end up costing lives. Probably not, with all the safety checks and double checks. It probably won't even hurt the bottom line, since there's a long waiting list for that plane that isn't going to evaporate short of some catastrophic accident.
Richard #935 #595 #44