Siemens, Ricardo, UC Riverside, UC Davis & CATARC, Virginia Tech.

Living safer for longer: Researchers from Siemens say they made Li-ion batteries safer and more durable through new chemistry. The joint research project Intrinsically Safe Battery (EiSiBatt) found that anodes made of lithium titanate and cathodes from lithium iron phosphate resulted in up to 20,000 charge-discharge cycles, four times that of regular Li-ion cells.
idw-online.de

Ricardo-ADEPT Mild-hybrid Ford: Ricardo will present its converted Ford Focus with a diesel engine that incorporates an 48-Volt architecture at today’s Low Carbon Vehicle Event in Millbrook, UK. The prototype has been developed as part of the Advanced Diesel Electric Powertrain (ADEPT) research project.
greencarcongress.com, ricardo.com

Eco-routing: Researchers at Riverside’s Bourns College of Engineering (UCAL) have developed a navigation tool that can cut energy use of an EV by 51%, the researchers say. The system takes into account real-time traffic information and road conditions but only works on routes around Riverside for now.
greencarcongress.com, ucr.edu

Shared knowledge: University of California, Davis and the China Automotive Technology and Research Center (CATARC) have agreed on the establishment of the so-called ZEV Policy Lab. Together, they want to quicken the commercialisation and uptake of battery and fuel cell electric vehicles.
greencarcongress.com, ucdavis.edu

Running on sugar: A Virginia Tech research team has developed a biodegradable battery that takes its energy from sugar. The new cells are said to possess an energy density ten times higher than that of conventional Li-ion batteries while being cheaper and fire-resistant.
greenlaunches.com, gizmodo.in