An Austrian consortium is researching significant improvements to lithium-ion batteries as part of the “OpMoSi” project. The aim of the project is to increase the energy density of cells by 20 to 30 per cent at 1,000 charges.
Read more
The Austrian-based international fire department supplier Rosenbauer has presented a new extinguishing system for burning traction batteries in electric vehicles. Also in Austria, a study has been published on electric vehicles fires in Austrian road tunnels.
Read more
Together with the Austrian companies Alveri and Arti Robots, TU Graz has developed a fully autonomous and mobile charging robot. The prototype independently finds its way to the parked electric car, where a robot arm guides the charging cable to the charging port and docks it there.
Read more- ADVERTISEMENT -
The EU-funded project Amapola which is focussing on a marketable polymer-based Al-S battery has announced it will be developing an aluminium-sulphur battery for vehicles and aircraft. The aim is to develop an Al-S cell that achieves very high energy density values (660 Wh/l or 400 Wh/kg) and uses the advantages of innovative polymer gel electrolytes.
Read more
Researchers at TU Graz, together with industry partners Audi, Daimler, and AVL, have looked into the entire battery lifecycle to detail ageing processes. The SafeBattery project ultimately aims to define parameters for the re-use of discarded EV batteries.
Read more
In Austria, the Graz University of Technology has opened a new facility for the development of solid-state batteries with their industrial partner AVL. Called the Christian Doppler Laboratory, the facility deals in depth with the reduction of interfacial resistances within the solid-state battery.
Read more- ADVERTISEMENT -
Researchers at the TU Graz have investigated energy storage in a hybrid supercapacitor, a combination of battery and supercapacitor that combines the advantages of both technologies. They now published details in a scientific journal.
Read more
Scientists of the Graz University of Technology are developing an autonomous, electric compost turning machine together with the company Pusch & Schinnerl. The development is part of the research project ANTON (Autonomous Navigation for Tracked Compost Turners).
Read more
An international research team at the University of Technology in Graz presented a new solid electrolyte for batteries. According to a statement by the university, it shows one of the fastest lithium migration processes ever measured in a lithium-ion conductor. Toyota was also involved in the project.
Read more
Researchers from the Technical University of Graz have developed a robot-controlled fast charging system for electrified vehicles in cooperation with industry partners. The special thing about the system is that it allows for serial charging of vehicles in different parking positions.
Read more
Eco heavyweights: MAN Truck & Bus is taking part in the EU project ECOCHAMPS, that wishes to develop hybrid technology for passenger and commercial vehicles. Out of the 26 partners, MAN is looking to build a hybrid bus for cities and hopes to lower cost through the standardisation of components. Its driveline will be compatible with different energy sources, be it a gas generator or fuel cell.
mantruckandbus.com
National Battery Prototyping Centre: Coventry is becoming a centre for alternative mobility as plans are revealed to build a competence centre for battery research there. The proposal is backed by politicians, scientists, and industry alike. While the centre would focus on research and development, it could ultimately lead to a large scale local battery production. Still, Coventry seeks money from the government to execute the plans but already got the (idealistic) backing of neighbouring Jaguar Land Rover, that says it wants to build both EVs and batteries in England. Funding decisions will only be made after the General Election.
reuters.com, coventrytelegraph.net
Another competence centre has been completed in Graz, where the ‘AVL-TU Graz Transmission Center’ offers ample space to research gearbox systems. 750 square metres will see testing of all sorts of transmissions, from hybrid drives to power axles for electric vehicles. It is a unique coupling of corporate and academic forces from which both partners hope to benefit.
tugraz.at
Cleaning the lagoon: Venice wants to electrify its water taxi fleet and a new hybrid drive from British REAP may help. It can be retrofitted and works with a carbon drive belt. It is not the first attempt to keep noise and exhaust levels low as Siemens already fully electrified a Venetian vessel with more to come.
contitech.de
High-energy storage cells: ZSW is developing novel coating technologies for nickel-based electrodes to be used in super caps. A first demonstration cell is ready, which enables charging and discharging times of less than three seconds, that is a c-rate of 1,200. The research is part of the ‘Fast Storage BWII’ project, that is funded by Baden-Wuerttemberg with 3m euros. The technology may be utilised in hybrid vehicles and electric fork lifts at a later stage.
zsw-bw.de (in German), zsw-bw.de (project)
Battery meets super cap: To combine the high-energy density of batteries with the high-power output of super capacitors in a single system, researchers at TU Graz experiment with a novel redox active ionic liquid that consists of an organic salt. The study is funded by the European Research Council (ERC).
tugraz.at, nature.com (paid content)
High temperature battery: Huawei presents a graphene-based Li-ion battery, said to withstand heat of up to 60 degree C and to last twice as long. Apart from graphene, the therrmal advance is aided by an additive in the electrolytes and a modified large-crystal NMC material used for the cathode.
huawei.com, youtube.com
Autonomous car testing in Europe: Ford is to start testing autonomous cars on European roads after having established its self-driving car projects in the USA. There, it will triple its fleet of self-driving Fusion Hybrids by next year.
autocar.co.uk
Self-flying electric cab: Airbus presents the Vahana concept, which it also calls a CityAirbus, designed by its A3 subsidiary in Silicon Valley. The copter cab, as we dub it, carries one passenger with no pilot needed and is powered by four electric motors at tilting wings that enable vertical take-off and landing. An airborne prototype is scheduled for the end of next year and a demonstrator shall land by 2020.
dailymail.co.uk, autoblog.com
Microcontroller for EVs: Infineon’s Aurix microcontroller has been designed for electric vehicles and automated cars. They offer a high level of integration and real time performance, making them faster and safe. The MC are scalable up to 16Mbyte of flash and 6Mbyte of RAM.
newelectronics.co.uk, automotiveworld.com
Modern fuel cell testing: The fuel cell research centre HyCentA at TU Graz opened a new test infrastructure for fuel-cell systems together with AVL List GmbH. The 2.3m euro test stand allows dynamic operating modes and is open for automotive suppliers as well as fuel cell system producers.
tugraz.a
Intelligent charging: A study by the University of California, Irvine concludes that smart charging PEVs minimises the scale of infrastructure needed. With smart charging the required power capacity drops to 16% (from 60%), while V2G could render non-vehicle energy storage systems unnecessary.
greencarcongress.com
