Between our obsession with mobile electronics and the growing popularity of electric vehicles, lithium ion battery demand is growing at an astonishing rate. Most of that demand is being driven by automotive sales which consume 60% of lithium ion batteries, even though they only account for about 1% of automotive
The transportation sector accounts for 28% of greenhouse gas emissions, and heavy-duty trucks account for 23% of that. Even though transitioning passenger cars to electric is well underway at this point, we’re right at the beginning of transitioning trucks and semis. But there’s a major wrinkle. While EVs
The increased use of lithium-ion batteries in everything from portable electronics to grid-scale energy storage has also spurred on battery research. It’s the never-ending quest for the next big thing. And for years, now solid-state batteries have been promised as that thing. Companies like Samsung, Quantum scape, and Toyota
From smartphones and laptops to the rapidly growing EV market, we need an incredible amount of lithium ion batteries to make it all work. Materials like lithium are difficult and time consuming to mine and extract ... and can have a major impact on the environment. Can nanotechnology solve our lithi
I just replaced one of the last gasoline-powered machines that I own: my 10 year old Ariens snow blower. The replacement? The brand new Ego Power+ 24 inch self-propelled 2-stage snow blower. We all know that batteries and the cold don’t go well together, so how does the Ego Power+ Snow blower hold u
What you need to know before getting a Tesla Powerwall (first impressions and early review). There’s a few things I learned going through the installation process that might be useful if you’re thinking about getting a home battery installed. So let’s go through what you should know before getting a
When it comes to energy storage, our first thought usually is lithium ion batteries. But what if we went old school ... like just spinning things really fast and capturing that kinetic energy, old school. I thought I’d explain an example of a mechanical battery: the flywheel. And are they making a c
The lithium ion battery is great. They power much of the world around us and in our pockets, but trying to scale the technology up for renewable energy grid battery storage is challenging. What if there was another way? A method that used air to store energy? This ... could change everything.
Tesla opened a fire hose of engineering, manufacturing, and battery advancements in their Battery Day event. Not to mention the new Plaid Model S and a future $25,000 electric vehicle. But I think we can break the jam-packed event down into three big takeaways. And it's really not about batteries.
Exploring Tesla Powerwall and home batteries - worth it? I just got a Tesla Powerwall ... well, more like I've got a Tesla Powerwall ready to be installed. But with home batteries like this being so expensive, why would anyone want one? It goes beyond a simple "return on investment" discussion. In f
Supercapacitors explained - the future of energy storage? With Tesla’s battery day event not too far off, and their acquisition of Maxwell Technologies last year, I thought it was worth taking a closer look at what a supercapacitor is. Some believe that supercapacitors might be integrated into futur
Let’s talk about some hints that Tesla dropped in the last quarterly call around cell production, scaling manufacturing, and EV range expectations. And how Tesla is pulling something from Apple’s playbook.