The promising but financially troubled A123 Systems lithium-ion battery maker announced yesterday that it has made a significant advance in battery technology that will enable electric car batteries to last longer and cost less.

A123 has been a leader in the race to develop (more…)

“Fast” DC electric vehicle chargers that can charge up to 80 percent of a battery electric vehicle (BEV) in under 20 minutes are starting to sprout up in the U.S. Consumers are expected to be willing to pay up to the price of a movie ticket to wait minutes instead of hours to charge a vehicle. (more…)

Often described as the next evolutionary leap in battery systems, solid state batteries substitute solid electrolyte films for liquid electrolytes, thus eliminating the need for cooling devices and supporting materials and making the battery more stable and efficient. Theoretically, they have the potential to cut both the size and the price of batteries in half. (more…)

New research at Concordia University is bringing the world one step closer to cleaner energy. It is now possible to extend the length of time a battery like enzyme can store energy from seconds to hours, as shown in a study published in the Journal of The American Chemical Society. Concordia Associate Professor László Kálmán — along with his colleagues (more…)

By spending years in the flywheel industry, Jim Fiske learned a great deal about grid-scale energy storage and its true requirements. After determining that flywheels were not the best option, he and the investor of his flywheel company founded Gravity Power. Gravity Power’s technology has the potential to change energy storage worldwide. (more…)

Efficient energy storage is key because we need to be able to access power when the sun is not out and the wind is not blowing.

A recent TED talk delved into this subject. The lecture was delivered by MIT’s Donald Sadoway, who explains in plain English how large-scale batteries that store renewable energy work. (more…)

About one fifth of the world’s population lacks access to electricity. It is one of biggest economic obstacles for people in developing countries, but one that could mean opportunities for a clean energy beginning with alternative energy. (more…)

One of the most promising aspects of energy storage is that it’s used to make an existing system more efficient. If you think of the grid as the system, then energy storage can help make generation, transmission, distribution, and even customer energy use more efficient.

How many different systems are there? The grid is the (more…)

A U.S.-based company says it has developed a new lithium-ion battery with an energy density of 400 watt-hours per kilogram — roughly twice the density of existing rechargeable batteries — an innovation the company claims could significantly increase the range of electric cars and ultimately cut the price of battery (more…)

Our electricity system is designed around central station, dispatchable (i.e. they turn on at the flip of a switch) generators. Transitioning to a system that is principally powered by renewable energy, many of which have variable production profiles, will require changes. (more…)