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.
Is a battery lawn mower worth it? My channel is all about smart and sustainable technologies, but I never thought that I’d be wanting to talk about ... a lawn mower. But here we are. I’ve been using an electric Ego lawn mower for the past 5 years, but just upgraded to the newest (2020) Ego Power+ 21
There’s been a lot of hype around solid state batteries for years now, but where do things stand today? And how much longer do we have to wait before seeing solid state batteries take hold in the technology we use every day? Let's take a look at the latest research, lithium ion batteries, and John B
Reuter's broke the news that Tesla was switching to CATL's prismatic LFP battery from their standard cylindrical NCA battery. I wanted to dig into a little more detail on the differences between the battery formats, how they’re made, why they’re chosen, and what the change in battery chemistry means
How Long Does A Tesla Battery Last? While I've been seeing a lot of rated range loss on my Tesla Model 3 battery pack, I'm not worried. I’ve partnered with the developer of Stats to take a look at some real world data. Tesla batteries will last a very long time, but there's more to this than you mig
New Tesla battery? At the beginning of September, the distinguished battery researcher Jeff Dahn from Dalhousie University, released a report about a new battery formulation that could power an electric vehicle for 1.6 million kilometers (or 1 million miles). Is this the battery we've been waiting f
Companies like Toyota, Hyundai, and Honda are all making hydrogen fuel cell cars, but where are they? And with the popularity of cars like the Tesla Model 3, and even more battery electric vehicles on the way, are hydrogen fuel cells even needed anymore?