Industry News Archives - Arbin Instruments

Category: Industry News News

Batteries and Wearable Medical Technology

May 19, 2021

"2019.03.01 Continuous Glucose Monitor, Washington, DC USA 00327" by tedeytan is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

Innovations in medical technology play a huge role in improving preventive medicine and chronic illness management. Advancements in sensors and data collection methods allow healthcare workers to provide more accurate diagnoses and more effective care to their patients. At the same time, the increasing accessibility of health monitoring technology also gives people the ability to keep better track of their own health and fitness with hard data. Remote monitoring has become a favorable option for patients who can reduce the frequency of their regular doctor visits. All this reflects the potential for wearable technology to change healthcare operations.

Different types of wearable technology

Health and Fitness Trackers

Smartwatches and fitness trackers have taken the world by storm. Users can track their heart rates, sleep patterns, activity levels, and calorie burn, along with many other metrics that provide insights into their overall health. Consistently collecting these types of data can help users recognize improvements, declines, or irregularities in their health. More advanced trackers have built-in ECG monitors or photoplethysmography technology that helps prevent heart disease by identifying irregular or abnormally fast heartbeats, as well as other signs of atrial fibrillation. Research is already emerging that this is effective in the early detection and prevention of heart diseases.

Active monitoring of their quality of life can give people more incentive to live active and healthy lifestyles. The data and statistics that fitness trackers provide let the users know what aspects of their lives they can improve on, whether it be getting more sleep, exercising more, or working on their cardiovascular health. This information can be highly beneficial for preventing disease in the long run.

Vital monitors

Beyond smartwatches and fitness trackers that collect basic health data, wearable devices can also be used to monitor more specified vital signs consistently. This is especially helpful for those who suffer from chronic illnesses.

For instance, Omron created a smartwatch with a built-in inflatable cuff to accurately measure blood pressure. For those with diabetes, there are wearable continuous glucose monitors which track blood sugar levels throughout the day, notifying the user through their smartphone if levels are too high or too low.

As these devices are designed specifically for a particular disease, patients are more likely to trust the accuracy of the data, especially if a doctor prescribes the device. A survey also found that these specified devices ease patients’ worries of reporting inaccurate data or readings. Health professionals can then use the detailed data from the wearable device to provide more effective medical advice and treatments at check-ups.

The batteries that can support wearable medical technology

Batteries play an essential role in bringing wearable technology to life. Light and reliable, batteries are a good source of energy to power these devices on the go. Progress in battery technology would also mean improvement in wearable medical devices. A few battery types currently under development could give these devices a boost. Flexible batteries that can bend along with fabrics and straps could be used to create slimmer and more comfortable devices. Structural or massless batteries, where energy storage is incorporated into the structure of the device itself, would allow manufacturers to develop smaller and even possibly microscopic devices to track patients’ health.

As these devices are worn on the body, increasingly safer batteries would also benefit wearable technology. While lithium-ion batteries are generally safe, device mishandling could affect the stability of the battery. For example, a smartwatch that gets banged up through everyday wear could have battery damage that causes overheating, making the device hazardous to the user. Devices that require less maintenance would be particularly helpful for elderly patients who may not be as tech-savvy.

Contact us to learn how Arbin’s Battery Testing Equipment can support your next challenge.

3 Industry-Leading Applications of Structural Batteries

May 7, 2021

Image Credit: Yen Strandqvist/Chalmers University of Technology.

Long before Elon Musk announced that Tesla was looking to integrate batteries into the car’s structure itself to reduce the weight of energy storage, researchers were already developing structural battery solutions. What does it mean to have a “massless” battery, and what are the possible applications for this type of battery?

What are structural batteries?

Batteries can often be the singular heaviest part of a machine; in electric vehicles, battery packs can make up 25% of the entire mass. In mobile applications like vehicles or drones, this means that significant energy is used to carry the battery pack as well. Unlike fuel, which burns away and makes the vehicle lighter over time, batteries maintain their full weight and thus do not spend energy as efficiently.

This obstacle is what structural batteries hope to address. In theory, these types of batteries double as an integral load-bearing part of the machine itself. They are also dubbed “massless” batteries as they do not add any extra mass to the device or machine outside of the necessary structural elements. For instance, Tesla hopes to make the battery pack the floor of the car itself, eliminating the need for a separate car floor to house the heavy batteries.

What materials are used for massless batteries?

Unlike current batteries that are held within a protective battery pack casing, structural batteries must withstand weight independently. For this reason, they need to be made out of much more rigid and sturdy materials. A common choice among structural battery researchers is carbon fiber. It is not only a strong material that can uphold the integrity of a structure; it is also a favorable material for battery anodes due to its high ion-carrying capacity.

Although structural batteries have been under development since the 2000s, there has yet to be a viable rendition. The latest version of a massless battery, developed by researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, was ten times better than previous ones. Yet at an energy density of just 24 wh/kg, it has only 20% of a lithium-ion battery’s capacity. There is still some way to go, but the technology is certainly promising.

Applications and benefits of structural batteries

Electric Vehicles

Electric vehicles, from cars and trucks to ships and planes, would greatly benefit from structural batteries. As previously mentioned, vehicle battery packs take up a lot of weight. Integrating energy storage into the structure itself will increase the range capacity of a vehicle, as extra energy is not needed to carry the non-load bearing battery packs. This energy savings would especially be valuable for larger vehicles like cargo trucks and even planes, as it can help address range anxiety.

Robotics

Another exciting application for structural batteries is robotics. Like EVs, batteries for robotics can often constitute 20% of the space or mass of a robot, limiting the designs of robots.

Robotics researchers have been exploring how to integrate the battery into the robot’s anatomy, designing biomorphic batteries that in some ways borrow their concept from energy storage in animals. Basing their research on the way fat tissues store energy throughout the body, scientists are developing ways to distribute energy storage throughout the robot. These types of structural batteries could potentially be used in applications such as body prosthetics as well as flexible or soft robotics.

Medicine and Microelectronics

Microelectronics is also a promising application for structural batteries, especially in medical applications and implants. Structural batteries will allow manufacturers to design these devices in even smaller formats. Battery-powered devices like pacemakers or hearing aids could be redesigned to be more comfortable and more seamlessly integrated into the body.

How battery testing can support research

High-quality, customizable battery testing technology can support the research and development of structural batteries. Arbin’s Regenerative Battery Testing Series, for instance, can test batteries according to a drive cycle, mimicking how a battery would be used in real life. This can provide scientists with a more accurate snapshot of the capabilities of a battery, facilitating and accelerating the testing and development process. Contact us to find out more.

How are batteries recycled?

April 29, 2021

Battery recycling is crucial in addressing battery waste management. With the number of electronic devices being discarded each year, and the number of EV batteries reaching end-of-life increasing in the coming years, proper recycling will ensure that cells are taken care of properly, protecting people and the environment from the adverse effects of ill-disposed batteries.

Even though a battery may no longer be usable, this does not mean that the materials within the cell are useless. On average, 80% of lead in new lead-acid batteries is recycled, showing that there is great potential for reusing materials.

How exactly are materials extracted from a spent cell?

Lead-acid batteries

The process of recycling lead-acid batteries is already quite mature, as these batteries have been in use in automobiles and other applications since the 1900s. The composition of these batteries is also simple and straightforward, making the process of recycling quite easy.

A lead-acid battery consists of lead, a plastic coating and sulphuric acid. The batteries are first broken apart and the sulphuric acid is neutralized and turned into sodium sulphate. The lead and plastic are separated by placing the battery pieces into a vat. The plastic floats to the top and the lead sinks to the bottom.

All three components are recycled: sodium sulphate is used in fertilizer and detergent, and the lead and plastic are either used in new batteries or other industrial products.

Lithium-ion batteries

There are two processes through which materials within lithium-ion batteries can be extracted. The first process is called pyrometallurgical recovery. This process makes use of high temperatures to smelt the battery and recover cobalt, nickel, and copper. However because of the extremely high temperatures, lithium, aluminum, and other organic compounds are burned away, leading to a relatively low recovery rate.

Hydrometallurgical post-processing is the alternate extraction process. It makes use of aqueous solutions to leach metals from the cathode. Lithium-ion cells are soaked in strong acids that dissolve the metals into a solution. This process is less energy-intensive and cheaper and can also recover lithium and copper on top of the other metals, allowing for a higher rate of recovery. However, chemical leaching also requires caustic reagents such as hydrochloric, nitric, sulfuric acids, and hydrogen peroxide to extract the materials.

Some recyclers make use of a combination of the two in order to extract materials. One recycler, Redwood, first heats the batteries to separate the metals of the cell. Then individual compounds are recovered through a hydrometallurgical process. The company claims that this method allows for a 95-98% recovery rate for nickel, cobalt, copper, aluminum, and graphite, as well as over 80% of lithium.

Many scientists are also working on safer and more efficient ways to recover battery materials for recycling. One company uses sulfur dioxide rather than hydrochloric acid or hydrogen peroxide to leach cathode materials. In theory, all materials within a battery can be extracted and reused in the battery manufacturing process.

Strong materials research will play a part in creating more sustainable and recyclable batteries in the future. Discovering and choosing materials and battery designs that are more easily processed and recycled will play a huge part in encouraging better recycling.

Learn how Arbin supports this research.

How Nanotechnology is Facilitating Battery Development

April 15, 2021

Nanotechnology is science at the nanoscale, working at the atomic or molecular level of matter. A nanometer is one billionth of a meter -- invisible to the eye. Nanotechnology is being used to innovate in many different fields including medicine, the environment, technology, and energy storage. The concept of nanoscience first started in 1959 when physicist Richard Feynman spoke about manipulating and controlling individual atoms and molecules. The field as we now know it began in 1981, when the scanning tunneling microscope was developed, which allowed scientists to see individual atoms and begin research at the nanoscale. In the battery industry, many companies are working to incorporate nanotechnology into batteries and battery production processes in hopes of improving material mining and battery performance and capacity.

How is nanotechnology improving material mining?

Lithium is currently the most coveted material needed for batteries. With the continuous growth of portable technology and EVs, and an increasing need for energy storage, analysts predict that the demand for lithium will increase tenfold by 2029. 70% of lithium is mined via brine extraction, which involves pumping salt-rich waters into a series of evaporation ponds. The water evaporates and pure lithium is eventually extracted from the ponds. However, this process is not only water-intensive, affecting the water supply to nearby residents and farmers, but also only extracts 30 to 50% of the available lithium.

One company is working to make use of nanotechnology to improve the efficiency of this process. EnergyX makes use of a nanotechnology called Metal Organic Framework (MOF) to separate lithium from the other materials in the water. An MOF is a porous material, consisting of metal ions and organic ligands that form a cage-like structure. They can act like a sieve to segregate materials, which is how EnergyX is making use of it. The small pores of the MOF allow lithium to pass through, but stop other ions like magnesium or calcium, allowing for a more efficient way to extract lithium. The company designed their technology to incorporate into the current brine ponds system, maximizing the mining process. Creating more efficient, sustainable, and environmentally-friendly mining processes can be a big help in meeting the demand for lithium and other battery materials

How is nanotechnology improving batteries?

There are currently numerous projects around using nanotechnology to create better batteries. These range from increasing the surface area of electrodes in order to increase capacity to improving the safety and stability of the battery.

The advanced materials company TruSpin Nanomaterial Innovation makes use of silicon nanofibers to increase the energy capacity of lithium-ion batteries. Silicon has long been a favored choice as a battery anode because of its high ion-carrying capacity. However, due to its tendency to expand and shatter throughout charge/discharge cycles, manufacturers are facing difficulties in incorporating it into a battery. Nanotechnology can help to address this issue. By using nanofibers, TruSpin is able to work around these expansion issues, and make the manufacturing process highly scalable and cost-efficient.

Amprius is another company leveraging nanotechnology to make silicon more usable for batteries. They designed egg-like capsules to protect the silicon from reacting negatively with the electrolyte, which causes the anode to develop a non-conductive solid-electrolyte interphase layer and reduces capacity. The structure also gives room for the silicon to expand and contract safely. In their design, a silicon nanoparticle is surrounded by a highly conductive carbon shell that lithium ions could pass through. With this configuration, their team found that the anode still retained 74% of its capacity after 1000 charge/discharge cycles.

Pure lithium metal is also a highly favored battery material. However, since it is highly reactive, dendrites tend to form on the surface of the anode, creating branch-like structures that can pierce and damage the battery. To counteract this, scientists at Rice University made use of carbon nanotube film to coat the lithium metal foil. The coating discourages li-ions from latching onto the lithium metal anode and prevents dendrite growth.

Despite its miniscule size, nanotechnology has the potential to make big waves in battery development, research, and manufacturing. Good, high quality battery test equipment allows researchers to notice patterns and gaps in a battery’s performance, and discover areas which nanotechnology could potentially help to fill.

Why is lithium-ion battery recycling still limited?

April 2, 2021

Creator: UCSD Jacobs School of Engineering - David Baillot

Market analysts predict that 705,000 tons of lithium-ion batteries will reach end-of-life by 2025. With batteries growing to be a staple in a future of clean energy, this number is set to grow exponentially, potentially reaching 9 million tons per year by 2040. Despite the increasing battery waste, the battery recycling rate is considerably low — it is currently estimated to only be 5%.

Why is the rate of lithium-ion battery recycling so low?

Even though long-term environmental and economic considerations incentivize battery recycling, lithium-ion battery recycling is still relatively young and underdeveloped. There are multiple reasons why the practice has yet to take off:

Cheaper Raw Materials

Although recycled materials just are as usable as newly mined ones, the price of raw materials can sometimes be cheaper than recycled materials. Cobalt is one example. If the price of fresh cobalt is cheaper, recyclers would not be able to compete and the recycling business would not be economically viable. The possibility of new chemistries emerging also threatens the recycling business. For instance, if cobalt is fully edged out of batteries, recyclers would have no incentive to extract it from battery waste. If other battery chemistries that use a different combination of materials become more popular than lithium-ion, there would also be less incentive to retrieve materials in discarded batteries.

Complex chemistries

The different mixtures of materials also complicates battery recycling. Even though all li-ion batteries contain lithium, other components may vary. Different batteries may contain metals like nickel, cobalt, iron, aluminium and more. With constantly shifting battery chemistries, creating an efficient extraction process is challenging, as they need to be adapted to each material that will be recovered. In turn, this would also raise the cost of recycling and make it less profitable.

Difficult processes

The structure of lithium-ion batteries also places another obstacle in front of efficient recycling. The components of a battery cell — cathode, anode, separator, electrolyte — are usually tightly wound or stacked together, and are not designed to be easily disassembled. There are also different cell designs and configurations. Larger battery packs, such as those for electric vehicles can contain thousands of these cells, further complicating the process. Each cell design would require a different disassembling processes and scales of operation, once again making it challenging to arrange a universally efficient and effective recycling process.

The benefits of battery recycling

In spite of these challenges, battery recycling is still a worthy venture. Environmentally, proper battery waste handling can prevent toxic battery materials from leaking into the ground in landfills and polluting the ground and water. Moreover, improper disposal of batteries can cause fires and explosions at landfills and waste management facilities. Damaged batteries can trigger thermal runaway events, which can be hazardous.

Moreover, increasing the supply of recycled metals could reduce the need to mine, also slowing down the depletion of materials. It would be more sustainable in the long run to include recycled materials into the supply chain in order to maintain a stable supply of battery components. Recycling batteries also reduce dependence on foreign sources of materials, lowering the cost of batteries as well as EVs and other devices.

As batteries become more and more prevalent in everyday life, from household products to energy storage, battery waste should be properly handled and taken care of. Governments are working to increase incentives for battery recycling, to create more sustainable supply chains and reduce the environmental impact of increasing battery use. Private companies and industries are also finding innovative ways to make battery recycling more accessible through lower costs and streamlining.

Learn more about how Arbin helps customers on the forefront of battery research.

How does weather affect the electrical grid?

March 15, 2021

Since the 1900s, electricity has become an integral part of our lives, determining our access to warmth, food, communication, safety, and health. The weather, however, can greatly affect our access to electricity, especially when we may need it the most. An analysis conducted by Climate Central found that there was a 67% increase in weather-related power outages since 2000 in the United States, reflecting the inability of the aging electrical grid to withstand increasingly extreme weather events. Both renewable and non-renewable energy are vulnerable to effects of the weather. How does it affect energy generation and transmission, and what can be done to improve it?

According to Climate Central, between 2003 and 2012, 80% of large-scale power outages were caused by severe weather. Out of these instances, 59% were caused by storms and severe weather such as heavy rains and thunderstorms; 20% by ice storms and cold weather; 18% by hurricanes and tropical storms; and 3% and 2% by tornadoes, and extreme heat and wildfires respectively. With a large majority of power outages caused by weather events, it is crucial to create a system that can hold up against them and recover as soon as possible.

How does weather affect the generation and distribution of electricity?

A majority of power lines in America are above ground making them vulnerable to weather and the elements. During storms and hurricanes, power line poles are susceptible to breaking and falling due to strong winds, or having branches and trees fall onto the power lines, disrupting the transmission of power. During Hurricane Sandy in 2012, 8 million people faced power outages with disruption caused by wind or flood damage, or preemptive shut downs by power companies to preserve the electrical system. In 2018, 1.7 million people faced electricity outages caused by Hurricane Michael. Oftentimes it can take a few days for power to be restored, leaving people and emergency services vulnerable during these times.

Ice storms can also cause damage to power lines as ice accumulates on them and makes them easier to break. If equipment is not designed to operate at certain temperatures, energy generation can be impeded. During the unprecedented cold weather that Texas faced, equipment at powerplants froze as they were not fortified against frigid temperatures, leaving millions without power. Extreme temperatures can also increase the demand on the electrical grid as people switch on extra heating or air conditioning to cope, putting a lot of pressure on the grid.

Renewable energy sources are not impervious to extreme weather conditions either. Some studies have shown that the electrical efficiency and power output of solar panels can also be negatively affected by higher temperatures. Not to mention when there is no sunlight at all for panels to harvest. Wind turbines can be damaged by winds stronger than what they are designed to handle.

What can be done to fortify the electrical grid against extreme weather?

With our electrical supply so greatly dependent on the weather, it is critical to have a system that can respond and withstand the pressure, especially in times of emergency.

Creating smart grids is one way to begin strengthening the grid. With the help of smart technology, there can be faster communication between the grid and power plants in detecting disruptions and allowing service providers to reroute power if necessary as soon as possible. It would also facilitate the monitoring of energy demand, so power plants can better respond to needs and make the decisions needed to meet demand while protecting the integrity of the grid.

Diversifying energy sources is also an important way to better ensure continuous availability of electricity. If one source gets affected by the weather, like a lack of sun hindering the generation of solar energy, other sources can step in and fill in the gaps.

Energy storage and localizing the grid is crucial in creating resilient systems and responding to energy needs in times of emergency. Grid storage would provide areas with a source of back up electricity when power plants and energy generators fail or are taken offline. With grids and storage controlled at a local level, areas would be able to continue to meet demand even if power lines or transmission towers are damaged. In this way, grid storage can act as a buffer, reducing the possibility or length of time people face power outages.

While people can’t control the weather, they can have control over how it affects us and our electrical systems. Creating a resilient and reliable power grid can better prepare areas to deal with extreme weather, avoid power outages, and ensure that critical services remain online during emergency situations.

Click here to find out more about how Arbin’s equipment supports the grid storage industry.

What are some different types of energy storage?

March 10, 2021

While batteries are the most common form of energy storage in everyday life, used in phones, tablets, watches, remotes and many other household items, they are not the only type of energy storage device. Each type is suited for different applications. Here are 3 different types of energy storage devices and the different ways they are used.

Batteries

Batteries are electrochemical devices, generating electricity through chemical reactions. Connected with an external circuit, electrons inside the battery flow from one electrode to the other, creating an electrical current that powers the load. Particular combinations of materials do not react in the same way, and each chemistry can store different amounts of energy and operate at different voltage ranges. Lithium-ion batteries are the most commonly used nowadays, favored because of their high capacities, stability, low self-discharge rate, and relatively low need for maintenance. Lithium-ion batteries can also be charged and discharged many times while maintaining its integrity and safety. Alkaline batteries are another common battery chemistry, used to power remotes, flashlights, toys and many other items. Lead-acid batteries are used in cars to start the motor.

In smaller applications, batteries are quite favorable; phones, tablets and other portable devices can last for a day before needing to be recharged. However, when it comes to larger applications such as electric vehicles or grid storage, their capacity still falls short. Batteries are the heaviest and most expensive part of an electric vehicle, and most still do not hold enough capacity to match up to internal-combustion engine vehicles. Further improvements in batteries will eventually even out the playing field, allowing for the same size of batteries to store more energy than before, increasing its competitiveness and viability for large-scale applications.

Redox flow batteries

Redox flow batteries are another type of chemical cell, but they operate in a completely different way than typical cell batteries. Flow batteries are liquid based, consisting of two half-cells each connected to an electrolyte tank. The half-cells are filled with the cathode and anode solutions and energy is released or store through the continuous circulation of the electrolytes through the half-cells.

Unlike lithium batteries, flow batteries are favorable for larger-scale, albeit, stationary, applications. Energy capacity is easily scalable by using bigger tanks and more concentrated electrolyte solutions. However, since they are typically quite large in size, they are not the best choice for portable applications. With some experts suggesting that they can last up to 30 years, they are being explored as a cost effective alternative for large-scale energy storage.

Supercapacitors

Supercapacitors, on the other hand, store energy statically rather than chemically. An electric field is created when ions present in the electrolyte migrate from one metal electrode plate to another.

Supercapacitors are very different from chemical-based energy storage devices. They do not have high energy density, holding only 1 to 30 Wh/kg. However, they have very high power densities, meaning that it can release a large amount of energy, as well as recharge, in a short period of time.

The nature of the supercapacitor makes it suitable for high-powered applications such as regenerative braking. In grid storage applications, the supercapacitor can act as a buffer to meet peak-load demand, quickly releasing energy into the grid when there is a sudden spike in demand, before the main energy storage can kick in.

Each type of energy storage device has their advantages and limitations. Some are looking at how to combine different types and capitalize on their advantages. Researches at the Queensland University of Technology are working on a hybrid of batteries and supercapacitors to create a device that can have the energy capacity of batteries with the power density of supercapacitors. These kinds of innovations will help push energy storage forward and create more efficient solutions for the future. From batteries, to flow batteries, to supercapacitors, Arbin Instruments has high quality equipment to test different types of solutions. Talk to an expert today to find what suits your research and development needs.

How Micromobility is Changing How We Move

March 1, 2021

"Rentable E-scooter by Lime at the roadside in Cologne to move car-free through the city"by verchmarco is licensed under CC BY 2.0

What is micromobility?

Micromobility is a form of transportation commonly referring to smaller single-passenger vehicles such as bicycles or scooters. While biking to get around town is not new, more recently, electric bikes and scooters have been growing in popularity in urban and suburban areas alike as an option for short to medium length journeys.

There is no global standard of electric micromobility, but some places set the speed limit for electric bikes and scooters at 15 mph, allowing them to be used only on bike lanes or on roads, and not on pedestrian sidewalks. In recent years, various shared electric micromobility companies such as Lime, Bird, and Jump have taken over cities in the US and Europe, offering urban commuters the option to rent a vehicle at a low price, in hopes to change how people get around the city.

How much is micromobility revolutionizing transportation?

Focusing on the rise of shared-micromobility services, one of the goals has been to fill in the gaps in a commuters’ journey, providing users with a first and last-mile solution — a way for people to get from public transit stops to their final destination. They also aim to be a good solution for short distance trips. Not only would this give commuters a faster alternative to walking, it hopefully also encourages people not to drive, take taxis or use other ride sharing services, thus reducing the amount of traffic on roads. During the pandemic, micromobility also offered a way for people to make quick trips during lockdown without a car or risking infection in public transportation. Cities in Europe, like Milan, began investing in micromobility and opened roads and bike lanes to encourage its use. Although the overall number of shared-micromobility rides decreased, one company found that the distances people were travelling on their scooters actually increased, with people renting scooters for a quick trip to the pharmacy or to restaurants to pick up food.

Moreover, since these electric micromobility vehicles are quiet and non-pollutant emitting, the use of them would also decrease the amount of pollution from transportation. In an e-scooter pilot program conducted in Portland, Oregon, it was found that 34% of residents replaced driving or hailing a car or taxi with e-scooters as their mode of transportation, showing that it is a viable and increasingly popular alternative mode of transportation.

Charging solutions for dockless micromobility?

Depending on the model, e-scooters can last for about 5-40 miles on a single charge and batteries would need to be charged for about 4-6 hours. Most e-scooter companies run on a dockless model, which means that people can leave their scooters anywhere around the city, without specific parking or charging requirements. Currently, there are two common ways that shared e-scooters are charged. Companies like Lime and Bird pay users to pick up scooters and charge them at home. Other companies like Tier and Jump have swappable batteries. This allows scooters to be on the road for longer periods of time and decreases the labour cost needed to pay gig economy scooter chargers.

However, some micromobility service providers are still concerned about battery swapping. As users or staff handle batteries, there are more opportunities to mishandle, tamper, or accidentally damage the battery, raising possible safety concerns. Opening and closing the battery compartment often can also lead to other potential damages such as water infiltration. Moreover, since batteries are often a target of theft, making them easily accessible could be a problem.

Some companies hope to provide new solutions to the charging problem. Swiftmile designed a solar-powered charging dock for electric scooters, giving users a space to park the scooters and charge them at the same time. The use of renewable energy also helps highlight these scooters as a part of the journey towards clean energy and transportation. Start-up company Perch designed “portals” that can be installed in parking lots and other public spaces for e-scooter charging.

Better battery technology

Climate change and other issues like the pandemic has forced us to rethink mobility and how people commute. Electric vehicles in all forms — cars, planes and ships, and micromobility solutions will continue to reshape our relationship to transportation and consider its impacts on the environment. As battery technology improves, so will these vehicles. Arbin is committed to being at the forefront of battery testing, innovating and improving technology for battery materials research, testing and developing.

The Clean Energy Shift

February 18, 2021

The US renewable energy industry has been growing steadily in the past two decades. From 2000 to 2018, renewable energy grew 100% and in 2020, renewable sources made up 11.4% of the country’s energy source. With the government’s new initiative for the power-sector to be decarbonized by 2035, the shift towards clean energy will most definitely accelerate. Here’s what this change could look like in the coming years.

Electrification across the board

For decarbonization to be successful, there must be cooperation from peoples across all levels of society; industries, corporations, and households all have a role to play.

Transportation, one of the biggest contributors to carbon pollution, continues to be at the forefront of electrification. With more and more EV models across the price spectrum debuting on the market, there is increasing enticement for drivers to make the switch to EVs. Many cities across the country are also taking initiative to replace public buses with electric alternatives, further facilitating the decarbonization of transportation. Delivery services like FedEx and UPS are also acquiring electric vehicles to slowly electrify their fleets.

Buildings and homes will soon also become more and more electrified, with gas-powered appliances such as furnaces and water heaters replaced with electric ones. With studies showing that home gas-powered appliances such as stoves increase indoor air pollution, more people are willing to switch to induction stoves and other alternatives.

While the upfront cost of replacing technology with electric versions can be high, studies have found that they are certainly more cost-efficient in the long run.

Supportive Infrastructure

Speaking of electrification, there has to be sufficient and resilient infrastructure to support it. One of the most important foundations is a modernized grid coupled with energy storage. With the, at times, erratic availability of renewable sources such as solar and wind, storage is an important addition to the grid to ensure a consistent supply of electricity. It is estimated that at least 3.6 gigawatts of battery storage will be installed in 2021, significantly adding to grid resilience and increasing the ability to consolidate and integrate multiple energy sources.

Expanding electric vehicle charging facilities is also crucial in creating an EV-friendly environment, further encouraging carbon-emission free options such as light-rails or bicycle paths.These options also contribute to decarbonization and encouraging clean and green commute options.

Localization energy generation

One of the advantages of renewable energy is that most anyone can contribute to its generation. Solar PV is one of the easiest ways for homes and businesses to adopt renewable energy on their own. 2019 and 2020 saw a boom in the deployment of residential solar panels. The installation of home residential energy storage continues to steadily increase and is expected to grow six-fold by 2025. This shows that individuals are open to taking clean energy into their own hands and do what they can to decarbonate their own homes. Updating to a modern two-way grid will also allow individual homes and buildings to contribute to energy production and sell electricity back to the grid, facilitating a local and resilient grid system.

What role is Arbin playing in the clean energy revolution?

Arbin continuously provides high quality test equipment made for grid storage applications, EV applications, and more.

Is EV fast-charging finally viable?

February 12, 2021

The availability of fast-charging will be one of the biggest drivers for electric vehicle adoption. Current public direct current chargers can charge a vehicle up to 80% in half-an-hour to an hour — still quite a long time compared with the few minutes it takes to refuel an ICE vehicle. Multiple manufacturers and developers are now working to make fast-charging possible. Is technology finally ready to rapid charge electric vehicle batteries?

How fast is fast?

Depending on the battery as well as the charger, charging a typical 60kWh EV battery can range from 30 minutes to 8 hours. In urban areas where cars can be charged at home or in commercial car parks, this may not seem such a hassle, as cars can be charged while at work or overnight at home. However, in places where chargers may be few and far between, this number can be discouraging.

Across the industry, researchers and manufacturers are trying to bring down charging times to at least ten minutes, with some ambitious ones aiming for five-minutes; The latter rate would put charging EVs on par with refuelling traditional cars.

Why has fast charging been difficult to pin down?

Being electro-chemical cells, a battery’s stability is determined by multiple factors such as materials, temperature, usage, etc. If not taken care of well, a battery can deteriorate and become obsolete very quickly; fast-charging could accelerate this deterioration process.

A study from the University of California, Riverside conducted an experiment that found just this. After charging battery cells using the industry’s standard procedure for fast-charging EVs, they found that battery capacity reduced by as much as 40% after just 40 charge cycles. An EV battery is considered end-of-life below 80% capacity, so they found that cells were practically unusable after 25 cycles. After 60 cycles, the cells even split open.

Why is this the case? Fast-charging rapidly increases the internal resistance of a cell, which means that the usable capacity of a battery decreases. One reason for this is the build up of lithium plating, the process where lithium attaches itself to the anode and can be detrimental to the cell’s integrity. Moreover, when charging power increases, the heat inside increases as well. This leads to a build up of gas, causing the battery to swell, eventually leading to fire or explosion.

What is being done to make fast-charging possible?

Because of these reasons, changes have to be made on multiple fronts to make fast-charging viable. One method to accomplish this is by replacing certain materials within the cell.

In order to create their fast charging battery, Israeli company, StoreDot, focused on updating battery chemistry to support it. Most common lithium-ion batteries use a graphite anode. The company used germanium-based nano-particles which helped to address issues in safety, battery cycle life, and swelling. The battery design has been tested with consumer products, drones, and two-wheeled EVs. StoreDot has also manufactured cells to demonstrate the fast-charging capabilities on electric cars.

Another ongoing fast-charging project is from Penn State engineers who designed a lithium iron phosphate battery that can charge in just 10 minutes. The battery makes use of a self-heating approach to heat the battery up to 140 degrees fahrenheit in order to facilitate the charging process. Researchers also designed the battery with low-cost materials in order to make them mass market-friendly.

With continuous improvement in battery and charging technology, EV fast-charging may soon be widely available. While there still has to be other changes such as building infrastructure to support fast charging, this is step closer to decarbonizing transportation.

Find out more about how Arbin assists in the Electric Vehicle revolution here.