New (Flow) Battery Design Could Help Solar and Wind Energy Power the Grid

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www6.slac.stanford.edu/news/2013-04-24-polysulfide-flowbattery.aspx

[font face=Serif][font size=5]New Battery Design Could Help Solar and Wind Energy Power the Grid[/font]

April 24, 2013

[font size=3]Menlo Park, Calif. — Researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University have designed a low-cost, long-life battery that could enable solar and wind energy to become major suppliers to the electrical grid.

"For solar and wind power to be used in a significant way, we need a battery made of economical materials that are easy to scale and still efficient," said Yi Cui, a Stanford associate professor of materials science and engineering and a member of the Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Sciences, a SLAC/Stanford joint institute. "We believe our new battery may be the best yet designed to regulate the natural fluctuations of these alternative energies."

…

In this video, Stanford graduate student Wesley Zhang demonstrates the new low-cost, long-lived flow battery he helped create. (Credit: SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory)

…

Today's flow batteries pump two different liquids through an interaction chamber where dissolved molecules undergo chemical reactions that store or give up energy. The chamber contains a membrane that only allows ions not involved in reactions to pass between the liquids while keeping the active ions physically separated. This battery design has two major drawbacks: the high cost of liquids containing rare materials such as vanadium – especially in the huge quantities needed for grid storage – and the membrane, which is also very expensive and requires frequent maintenance.

The new Stanford/SLAC battery design uses only one stream of molecules and does not need a membrane at all. Its molecules mostly consist of the relatively inexpensive elements lithium and sulfur, which interact with a piece of lithium metal coated with a barrier that permits electrons to pass without degrading the metal. When discharging, the molecules, called lithium polysulfides, absorb lithium ions; when charging, they lose them back into the liquid. The entire molecular stream is dissolved in an organic solvent, which doesn't have the corrosion issues of water-based flow batteries.

…[/font][/font]

http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/C3EE00072A

[BlueStreak]

1. Very interesting. A major fallacy in the energy world is that the same technology can

or should serve cell phones, cars, and power plants. That proposition is nonsensical, as the requirements are entirely different. Cell phones need compact storage, but not much power.

Cars need lots of power, fast recharge time, and not too much weight and much lower cost than today's technologies.

The power grid needs batteries that can scale tens of thousands of times greater than car batteries. Cost is not all that important as long as the cost can be amortized over many customers and many charge cycles. And weight/space isn't a concern at all.

Some nitwits have talked about truly hair-brained schemes where we would connect our cars to the grid so that our cars would be the batteries that would handle the ups and downs of the power grid. Not hardly. When you plug your car in, you want it ti recharge -- not go up and down in charge depending on how the grid happens to be doing.

These flow batteries appear to be highly scalable at a reasonable cost.

There are other companies looking at flywheels to store the excess power. It is nice to see several promising technologies evolving simultaneously.

This stuff is moving much quicker than many people realize. In many parts of the country, coal-fired generators are being shut down entirely. Do a Google search on "coal plants shut down". I got 4.5 million hits. And many of them show the EPA working actively to close these things down. This demonstrates the value of holding the White House. Some of that shutdown activity would happen on its own as natural gas and renewables win the economic argument. But the EPA is able to speed this change along by driving shuttering decisions based on the pollution factors.

The UK may close its last coal-fired power plant in under 10 years.

A huge scalable battery system changes the economics of wind power. Right now you must have lots of combustion-based power plants to handle the ups and downs. As giant batteries become viable, that will allow us to drop the combustion and nuke plants to 10-20% of our generation capacity.

[OKIsItJustMe]

2. “… Some nitwits have talked about truly hair-brained schemes …”

I should warn you, one of our regulars is a great proponent of V2G.

To me, it sounds like a formula for prematurely aging a car’s battery, by greatly increasing the number of charge/discharge cycles. (But what do I know?)

[BlueStreak]

3. Why would I want to own an electric car if the power company could

suck half of the capacity out of it when they needed the juice?

And why would the power company want to depend on consumers not deciding to pull the plugs when they didn't want to give up the power?

I'm all for a smart grid, but I think it make no sense at all to drain EVs.

Let my electric water heater drop 10 degrees when power is needed elsewhere? No problem.

Washing machines and dishwashers with the intelligence to only run their loads when there is surplus power available? I'm in.

Suck juice out of my EV? You have to be nuts! Until you can give me a battery that will reliably give me a 200 mile range even AFTER you have sucked some of the juice, I'm not with that program.

The time of day when I am most sensitive to battery range is the same time that power is tight on the grid.

The typical hybrid car battery could run an average house AC unit for maybe 15-30 minutes. This just isn't the scale of battery needed for the grid.

[OKIsItJustMe]

4. While I’m skeptical of V2G I believe your estimation is off

The typical hybrid car battery could run an average house AC unit for maybe 15-30 minutes. This just isn't the scale of battery needed for the grid.

http://editorial.autos.msn.com/blogs/autosblogpost.aspx?post=7f887013-60d3-4465-a14b-6bbf588c03bc

[BlueStreak]

5. In that example, I believe they ran the gas engine

Seems rather silly to risk wrecking a $30,000 car for the same thing you could get from a $300 generator.

The Prius battery is theoretically 1.3 kWH, but you don't want to completely discharge it on a regular basis or else you'll be looking at a $3000 replacement cost.. SO practically speaking you can use maybe 0.6 kWH from the battery. That's about 10 minutes on a 10,000 BTU AC unit -- assuming you can suck the power that fast without blowing up the batteries.

[OKIsItJustMe]

6. I don’t mean to suggest that people should do this themselves

However, it is a practical example.

Here’s another practical example, this time with battery-powered cars, not a hybrid:
http://myimiev.com/mitsubishi-i-miev-can-be-used-to-power-your-house/

[font face=Serif][font size=5]Mitsubishi i-Miev can be used to power your house[/font]
Posted on August 18, 2011

[font size=3]Still reeling from the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disasters in March, Japan has started re-thinking the security and capacity of it’s electric grid. This has led Nissan and Mitsubishi to provide systems that allow you to power your house from your Mitsubishi i-Miev or Nissan Leaf.

According to Nissan, the Leaf’s battery pack has enough energy to power the average Japanese household for 2 days.

Since there are more than 6000 Nissan Leafs and Japan and another 4000 Mitsubishi i-Mievs, that means there are 10000 homes that could have access to electricity for their house in an emergency. This method of powering your house with the Mitsubishi i-Miev has been dubbed Vehicle to grid.

Nissan hopes to have a commercial version of their Leaf-to-home charger ready for sale in Japan next year. Mitsubishi already unveiled their system earlier this summer. The biggest part of the news is that Nissan and Mitsubishi announced that they plan to standardize such a device.

…[/font][/font]

[FBaggins]

7. "Drain EVs" dramatically oversimplifies the proposal.

There are three critical challenges to the variability of some renewables. One is what you're addressing... the fact that the grid can go for extended periods of time (occasionally days) with little to no generation from those sources. EVs won't do much to help that (though I could imagine a use in my home). It wouldn't make sense to have a system that could result in the owner waking up in the morning and not being able to get to work.

But that's not really how they expect this to work.

The second challenge is the mirror of the first. Sometimes they produce "too much" power and the grid operator has to do something with it while they adjust more controllable output. EVs combined with a smarter grid could fill that demand as they charge on power that would be incredibly cheap (since it would otherwise be thrown away). Both the consumer and the grid operator benefit.

But that too is only a small part of it.

The third challenge is that this variability is not day by day or hour by hour. It's a constant fluctuation that gets more and more challenging to manage as variable sources increase their penetration in the market. This is on top of the already existing challenge of the momentary fluctuations on the demand side as well.

This is where I think V2G solutions really could shine. They could go a long way toward smoothing that instantaneous variability (on both the supply and demand side)... and they can do so without any risk to your morning commute. I would imagine utilities offering you a guarantee that they will charge the vehicle when supply is cheap and only drain down to a given point (say, 90% full). This would allow them to not only increase the penetration of renewables generation, but also keep prices down by avoiding the most expensive peaking power costs - all without extreme expense for grid-scale storage.

This would, of course, require a significant market penetration of EVs as well as a much smarter grid, but there are synergies there that make it very attractive.

[BlueStreak]

8. Regarding the third area

I believe you are talking about the "near end points' (so to speak) of the power grid. That is where one user can momentarily suck enough juice to drop the voltage of other nearby subscribers.

But I still don't see how depending on cars being plugged in is a smart architecture. Not only is it a hostile act to take precious electrons out of my car battery, if several of us happen not to be plugged in at that moment, it seems like that whole premise falls apart.

In the end, I expect that power companies will deploy their own batteries in these situations, just like they manage their own transformers. And technologies like "flow" batteries would seem to be orders of magnitude more scalable and economical than car batteries, and also accept a far faster and deeper charge/discharge cycles. They have a lot of space and weight, so that would not work in a vehicle, but that is no problem sitting at a power substation.

The bottom line, as I see it, is that EVs are nowhere near being commercially viable at this point. And they can only inch their way toward viability with batteries that are highly optimized for the job of powering a car. This is an entirely different set of properties from what the grid needs. If there were one perfect battery that was optimal for all applications, then maybe I could see this concept better, but that is not where batteries are today and I don't believe that is where they will be 10 years from now.

Moreover, there is a serious question whether battery-powered cars will ever be all that common. We seem to be not many years away from economical fuel cells, and that might overtake the Leafs and Teslas of the world. If that happens, this power grid concept just won't develop.

[FBaggins]

9. No... I mean actual supply/demand spikes.

On a small scale they aren't a big deal, but they add up.

I'll give you an example.

A common demand-management technique is to get homeowners to connect their electric hot water heater in such a way that the utility can turn it off if it needs to. That way, when demand peaks on a hot day in the summer, they can flatten the peak of demand and save money (passing some of the savings on to you to encourage participation in the plan). Most consumers never notice it happening because they use little hot water in the middle of the day and the insulation on the tank keeps the water hot for hours anyway (really over a day depending on the model and how hot you consider acceptable).

In this case, consider that many appliances (A/C, fridge, well/sump pump) have a spike in their current draw as they are starting up, but have much lower run rates. "Smart" controls on that battery can level out the demand from the home without a net draw on the battery. Connected to a smart grid, and it can do the same thing in the agregate for supply surges.

But I still don't see how depending on cars being plugged in is a smart architecture

Not on any particular car... but on cars in the agregate.

Not only is it a hostile act to take precious electrons out of my car battery,

Not at all. You would choose whether or not to participate (and to what extent) and would be compensated for it. Take that water heater example. As I remember it, you could save $5/month by just agreeing to make your unit available to the demand management program (this was several years ago). There are some programs that aren't even "smart"... they just turn of the water heater entirely from 7am to 11pm and saving $10-15/month. There are lots of people who would still never notice the difference.

if several of us happen not to be plugged in at that moment, it seems like that whole premise falls apart.

The system would need to be designed to account for cars being used as cars.

But the EVs of the future will likely be plugged in either at home or at work a very high percentage of the time. And, of course, that behavior can be modified with incentives funded by the savings they provide to the grid.

Another think that Kristopher had mentioned in the past is that EV batteries have value to the grid long after they are usefull in the car. The repurposing of those batteries in smarter homes or in bunches as grid storage can help make EVs affordable sooner and reduce the expense of grid storage.

The bottom line, as I see it, is that EVs are nowhere near being commercially viable at this point.

Of course not. But infrastructure planning is a game with a very long time horizon. They will someday be viable unless something better comes along.

[wtmusic]

11. V2G efficiency losses are at least 20%

and no one will tolerate not knowing how mobile they are. It will never fly.

[FBaggins]

12. Did you read the reply?

There's no need for anyone to "tolerate" a change in mobility... and a 20% loss is cheap by comparison to alternative costs of leveling out highly variable generation.

The appeal of potential V2G solutions is that while storage options are incredibly expensive... the incremental cost of using a battery that is already paid for as not so large.

There would be value in any incremental availabilty that you have. You might know that you need 35% of the battery in order to get home after work, and agree to the grid draining the battery down to no less than 40% between 11-3, with the expectation that they'll gurantee to charge it back up between 3-5... or save even more if you're willing to drive it home and charge it off-peak in the middle of the night.

[OKIsItJustMe]

15. Or, put another way, it’s about 80% efficient

So, is that high? Is that low? (Compared to what?)

Is it a worse efficiency than a stationary battery? (Why?)

What other grid storage technologies are out there?
How efficient are they?
What is their energy density?
What is their power density?
How responsive are they to momentary fluctuations?
How much do they cost?


http://energy.gov/articles/smoothing-renewable-wind-energy-texas

[font face=Serif][font size=5]Smoothing Renewable Wind Energy in Texas[/font]

April 9, 2013 - 10:57am

The Notrees Wind Storage Demonstration Project is a 36-megawatt energy storage and power management system, which completed testing and became fully operational in December. It shows how energy storage can moderate the intermittent nature of wind by storing excess energy when the wind is blowing and making it available later to the electric grid to meet customer demand.

[font size=3]Last month, a small west Texas town was the site of an important first: The commissioning of North America's largest battery storage project at a wind farm. The Notrees Wind Storage Demonstration Project has implications that may eventually ripple across America, from moving us closer to realizing the potential of renewable energy to improving the reliability and efficiency of the electric grid and increasing our energy independence.

The Notrees Project is one of 16 energy storage demonstration projects supported by the Department under its Recovery Act-funded Smart Grid Energy Storage Demonstration Program. The project received $22 million from DOE, which was matched by $22 million from Duke Energy, for a total of $44 million. The system integration was performed by Xtreme Power.

…

The Notrees project is an important pilot project using storage to help stabilize the frequency of electricity provided to the Energy Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which manages approximately 85 percent of the state’s electric load. The Notrees project is expected to help facilitate broader adoption of energy solutions by providing a model for industry to follow. Widespread adoption, in turn, should provide alternatives to fossil-fueled energy -- further reducing our dependence on foreign oil -- and additional resources to the grid, ultimately leading to a more stable electricity delivery system and lower cost.

…[/font][/font]

[wtmusic]

18. Do you like green eggs and ham? (Why?)

Sorry, I thought you were channeling Dr. Seuss.

Considering you need a peaker plant to charge your battery when the wind isn't blowing and it goes dead, what's the purpose of the battery?

[BlueStreak]

14. Maybe I don't understand the leveling problem

All household appliances can run happily within a band of voltage from something like 105V to 125V. Around 105-108 some UPSes start to cycle off and on. That really is a huge band.

We have all heard about the "Super Bowl flush" phenomenon where water pressure drops right at halftime of the Super Bowl. I don't know that we ever see such a simultaneous behavior with electricity.

It this a solution looking for a problem?

[wtmusic]

10. Agree on V2G, fuel cells have been a few years away for 20 years

and EVs are entirely commercially viable at this point - for some users.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/tjmccue/2013/01/03/worldwide-electric-vehicle-sales-to-reach-3-8-million-annually-by-2020/

[BlueStreak]

13. EVs are way under 1% of the market

That article grossly overstates the EV market by lumping them in with plug-in hybrids.

EV sales in the US in 2012 were, what?, 20,000 vehicles -- and that may be only if you include golf carts. Total vehicle sales were 14,500,000. That's barely 1/10 of one percent.

That article has the classical reasoning error of extrapolating from a single point. You need at least two points to draw a line.

What should be obvious to everybody is that the future of EVs will be linked directly to the energy density, cost, and recharge time of batteries. If there is an order of magnitude improvement in battery technology, then there will be an order of magnitude increase in EV market share.

But there has been very little improvement in recharge time and economics -- nothing like "Moore's law". Energy density has been improving a little through improved packaging and cooling, but it may take 10 years to see a fourfold increase in energy density, and that is really the entry point for the average consumer (assuming recharge time and cost are reasonable).

The market share difference between fuel cells and EVs is only 0.1% I say that as a joke, but the hard point is that fuel cells could overtake EVs. The economics of fuel cells aren't that far from lithium batteries. Fuel cells would need a hydrogen infrastructure, of course, and that will slow their penetration. The next generation is wide open at this point.

[wtmusic]

16. Automotive (hydrogen) fuel cells will never happen.

A hydrogen infrastructure will cost half a trillion dollars. Who will pay? Though oil companies want one (they have lots of filling stations and won't have much to sell in them), they won't take the risk when no one's buying the vehicles. No one will buy the vehicles without the stations. Classic chicken/egg, it's all oil company hype.

I have my own filling station - easy, convenient, clean, cheap.



I swear, some people enjoy changing oil and paying more than $.04 mile - wouldn't dream of bursting their bubble. But I've been watching detractors' arguments fall to technology for five years (one thing it won't do: climb a 20% grade in the winter for 30 miles with the heater on, while towing a boat. Really sucks at that. ). The same thing happened with hybrids ten years ago, and EVs are doing better at the two-year mark than hybrids were.

From Joe Romm, the author of The Hype About Hydrogen:

"As I’ve said for a decade now, hydrogen fuel cells are not going to be a significant, cost-effective CO2 reducer. In a 2005 journal article, “The car and fuel of the future,” I noted that:

Using fuel cell vehicles and hydrogen from zero-carbon sources such as renewable power or nuclear energy has a cost of avoided carbon dioxide of more than $600 a metric ton, which is more than a factor of ten higher than most other strategies being considered today….

A 2013 study by independent research and advisory firm Lux Research finds that despite billions in research and development spent in the past decade, “The dream of a hydrogen economy envisioned for decades by politicians, economists, and environmentalists is no nearer, with hydrogen fuel cells turning a modest $3 billion market of about 5.9 GW in 2030.”

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/04/05/1422411/study-hobbled-by-high-cost-hydrogen-fuel-cells-will-be-a-modest-3-billion-market-in-2030/

Fuel cells are light years behind EVs:

"Cost reduction over a ramp-up period of about 20 years is needed in order for PEM fuel cells to compete with current market technologies, including gasoline internal combustion engines."

Meyers, Jeremy P. "Getting Back Into Gear: Fuel Cell Development After the Hype".
The Electrochemical Society Interface, Winter 2008, pp. 36–39, accessed August 7, 2011

Hydrogen is messy, expensive, and dangerous, and when you include cooling to 33K or compression to 800 bar energy efficiency is pathetic.

[OKIsItJustMe]

17. They’re already here

The only question is how the market will split between BEV’s and FCEV’s. They each have their advantages and disadvantages.


http://www.hyundainews.com/us/en-us/Media/PressRelease.aspx?mediaid=38232&title=hyundai-ix35-fuel-cell

[font face=Serif][font size=5]Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell[/font]

[font size=3]

• Up to 1.000 units of hydrogen-powered model to be produced by 2015
• Deliveries to municipal and private fleets underway
• Winner of prestigious FuturAuto 2013 award for technical innovation

OFFENBACH, March 5, 2013 - Production of the Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell began at the company’s Ulsan manufacturing plant in Korea in January 2013, making Hyundai the first automaker to begin commercial production of a hydrogen-powered vehicle. The first complete car rolled off the assembly line on 26 February 2013.

Hyundai plans to manufacture 1.000 units of the hydrogen-powered ix35 Fuel Cell vehicles by 2015, targeted predominantly at public sector and private fleets, with limited mass production of 10.000 units beyond 2015.

Hyundai has already signed contracts to lease the ix35 Fuel Cell to municipal fleets in Copenhagen, Denmark and Skåne, Sweden. Additionally, since October 2011, the EU Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU) in Brussels has been providing Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell vehicles to EU policy makers and the public in order to demonstrate the market readiness of fuel cell technology.

…[/font][/font]

[wtmusic]

19. They've been "here" for twenty years.

At least FCV proponents are consistent. Now it's 2015, is it? *goosebumps*

[OKIsItJustMe]

20. No, they”re being assembled now.

…

At the 2013 European Motor Show in Brussels, Belgium, the Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell was awarded the prestigious FuturAuto accolade, selected as winner for becoming the first mass-produced, hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicle to be commercially available.

…

[wtmusic]

21. They're selling them to fleets

which makes sense, because there's no infrastructure in Europe either.

Why wouldn't they go with natural gas, like most other "clean" fleets? It has to cost 5x as much.

[OKIsItJustMe]

22. Um… perhaps they want an actual clean technology

If you create fleets of natural gas fueled ICE cars, that’s what they’ll be.

If you “reform” natural gas and use the hydrogen in a FCEV it’s actually (somewhat) more efficient.

Then, you can “transition” to more and more renewable hydrogen.

http://www.cleantechinvestor.com/portal/fuel-cells/10443-integrated-hydrogen-and-renewables-projects-in-europe.html

…

When more wind power is available at the site than can be accepted by the network, a series of electrolysers are used to generate hydrogen which is stored on site. This stored energy, effectively acting as renewable base-load energy, is used in a number of ways:

. The hydrogen can be mixed with biogas and fed into cogeneration plants which produce electricity and heat. The electricity can then be fed back into the grid at times when little or no wind is available; the heat is fed into a district heating network, increasing the overall efficiency of the hybrid power plant.

. The hydrogen is also used as a fuel by TOTAL hydrogen refuelling stations in Berlin and Hamburg which support fleets of fuel cell vehicles.

Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) is also interested in using hydrogen from this project to fuel its vehicle fleet which is planned to be operational by June 2012.

…

[wtmusic]

27. Compressed H2 reformed from natural gas is significantly more efficient used in an FCV

Well-to-wheels, according to Argonne GREET simulation, is 4255 BTU/mile.

A vehicle powered with compressed North American natural gas is 6079 BTU/mile, and an EV powered by California's utility mix is 3520 BTU/mile.

GREET doesn't consider prices but a fuel cell vehicle in 2013 is many times the price of either of the other two.

[OKIsItJustMe]

32. Yeah, I didn’t want to overstate the case

And couldn’t find the numbers quickly.

If I recall correctly, it’s also somewhat more efficient to reform natural gas, and use the hydrogen in an FCEV than it is to burn the natural gas to generate electricity to charge a BEV.

[wtmusic]

35. Let's find out.

This is with 100% natural gas fired electricity. Apparently the difference has to do with electricity used in the reforming process.

[OKIsItJustMe]

36. “Apparently the difference has to do with electricity used in the reforming process.”

There are so many variables involved, and so many different technologies.

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2013/03/fuel-cell-vehicles-twice-as-fuel-efficient-as-gas-powered-cars/

[wtmusic]

37. From a manufacturer who's hyping their FCV and doesn't offer a BEV.

Why don't you download the GREET model and run the numbers yourself? You can change all the numbers and make them look as pretty as you want.

Or try, anyway.

[OKIsItJustMe]

38. Now, why do you suppose he would be irrationally attracted to FCEV’s?

(I have seen similar figures elsewhere.) I think the Japanese have been following a reasonable approach. The gasoline hybrid offers advantages over a conventional vehicle, and introduced a (partially) electric drive train.

They have decided (rationally I feel) that making larger and larger battery packs doesn’t make sense.

Most auto manufacturers seem to have concluded that a battery electric car makes the most sense as a commuter car (that’s essentially what the EV-1 was designed to be; its range was determined by the average daily commute.)

For longer ranges, they’re looking to gasoline, and fuel-cell hybrids.

[wtmusic]

39. For the same reason VW was attracted to them?

VW CEO Says That Hydrogen Fuel Cells Have Failed to Live up to Promises

"A few years ago there were a number of automotive manufacturers putting serious money into hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles. These vehicles promised to have a driving range similar to a conventional gasoline-powered automobile, but produce no emissions to pollute the atmosphere.

However, the vehicles faced several daunting challenges, including the lack of a hydrogen fuel infrastructure and the fact that hydrogen is highly flammable and difficult to store.

Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn stated this week that hydrogen fuel cells have failed to live up to promises and are unlikely to become an efficient and cost-effective way to power cars in the near future."

http://www.volkswagenag.com/content/vwcorp/content/en/innovation/fuel_and_propulsion/Fuel_Cell.html

VW claimed not three years ago that EVs didn't make sense. Since then, they've changed their minds on that too.



Volkswagen announces its first electric production car – the e-up!

"Volkswagen may be a bit late to the electric vehicle game, as far as major global manufacturers go, but it's making up for it quickly. Hot on the heels of the world premiere of its e-Co-Motion electric van concept and the revolutionary XL1 hybrid, the company is introducing its first electric production car – the e-up! – which made its debut at its Annual Press and Investors Conference. The electric up! is a city car that can travel up to 93 miles (150 km) per charge.

Volkswagen has been growing its line of up! city cars for the past several years. The four-seat e-up!, which debuted as a concept at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show, brings a zero-local-emissions presence to the line, and according to Volkswagen, also a "nearly zero noise" presence.

The e-up! is powered by an 81-hp electric motor and 18.7 kWh lithium-ion battery. The motor puts out 155 lb-ft (210 Nm) of torque and sends the car rolling to 62 mph (100 km/h) in 14 seconds. Its top speed is 83 mph (135 km/h). The car doesn't receive the intensive weight savings of the XL1, but it does manage to keep light at 2,612 lbs. (1,185 kg)."

http://www.gizmag.com/volkswagen-first-electric-e-up/26654/

[OKIsItJustMe]

40. I guess we’ll see

My impression is that a number of manufacturers said, “Me too!” (We have an EV.)

However, none of them are selling all that well.

[BlueStreak]

24. In situ Hydrogen generation (talk about a political football)

Exxon, BP and Shell all want to think about big tanker trucks that will distribute hydrogen to a network of stations they control. But it really doesn't have to be that way. Fundamentally, all you need to "create" hydrogen is electricity and water. So in theory, any gas station could create their own hydrogen. Or we could do it at home.

Now, economics will be a question. Is it a better (i.e. more efficient, lower cost) solution to create hydrogen in situ to feed fuel cells or is it better to pump that same electricity into batteries?

There certainly are energy losses either way. It isn't obvious to me which one would be more efficient. I think it is clear that you can get substantially longer range TODAY with a fuel cell than with any battery of comparable space and weight.

There are numerous developments underway to improve the hydrogen generation process (compared to simple electrolysis). If any of these can scale down to service station size, that becomes a HUGE threat to the energy company, which are, after all, the most profitable corporations ever known to man.

[wtmusic]

25. You could generate your own hydrogen from a solar array

but that's not the real problem. You then need to compress it to at least 700 bar, or about 10,000 lbs/in². That takes a tremendous amount of energy. In the GM Equinox fuel cell vehicle there were two carbon fiber/epoxy tanks under the car, each about 10' long. With both of them pumped up to that intense pressure, the vehicle has 70 miles of range.

If you look at any official stats you'll see all kinds of range claims, but I live about 3 miles from where the GM testing center for those Equinoxes was in Burbank, CA. I was in Pep Boys one day and there was one in the parking lot. As the store was uncrowded, I managed to find the driver and have a nice little chat with him. 70 miles of range - that's it. That was two years ago, I know range has improved since then, but with Teslas on the market with 220+ miles IMO they are never going to catch up with EVs in price or range. And you can charge your Tesla at home.

Regardless of how efficient you make the hydrogen process, it will always use more energy than you get back from it. So unless you have an extremely compelling reason to convert energy to free hydrogen, you're better off just charging a battery. The energy wasted by compression and inefficiencies of the cell itself isn't even close to the resistance of an Li-Ion battery, which are 80-90% efficient.

[BlueStreak]

26. That may all be true. What it boils down is that both camps are hoping for a miracle

Fact: Neither technology is anywhere close to being commercially viable today. And neither will be without a miracle breakthrough of roughly an order of magnitude.

We can speculate about who will get their miracle and when. I enjoy that. But I hope we all realize the reality here.

While all of this is going on, the really important action is happening with huge improvements in gasoline MPG in the mainstream market. Hybrids are an important part of that, of course, be some non-hybrid (or extremely mild hybrids) are mow getting well into the 30s, close to 40 MPG. This dwarfs any real-world impact by EVs and fuel cells.

We are clearly in a transition, but this transition may run a lot longer than the enthusiasts for EVs and other technologies would like.

[wtmusic]

28. There are 50,000 people in the U.S. driving cars which you say are not "anywhere close"

to being viable - every day. I'm one of them.

I think your perspective is a bit dated.

[BlueStreak]

30. What do you drive?

[BlueStreak]

29. The one huge disadvantage of EVs

is recharge time, and hydrogen would not have that problem. Hydrogen could be refueled as fast as you pump a tank of gasoline.

We keep hearing about all these advances in battery recharge time, and still we're talking 8 hours to get a full charge. It doesn't seem like there has been any advancement at all.

And really, anything longer than about 10 minutes is going to keep EVs from ever hitting the mainstream. A small percentage of the market can live with an 8 hour recharge, but most people cannot.

The reliable Tesla run time (in variety of weather conditions, and driving normally in highway traffic), is more like 120-150 miles -- and that is with their biggest battery pack that makes the car a $70K item. It makes no sense whatsoever to drive for 2 hours and then recharge for 8 hours.

Now, if they could economically get a true 400 mile range, that would probably be good enough for the mainstream. If you take a long trip, you could plan a 45-minute "top off" charge while you eat lunch, and that would probably get you 500 miles. That's about the the limit of what most people would try to drive in a day, and then you could get a full charge overnight (assuming your hotel has facilities.)

But that means double or triple today's range and 1/4 today's cost -- in other words about an 800% improvement -- almost an order of magnitude. That' won't happen before 2020, I bet.

[wtmusic]

31. Recharging is really not a problem.

It seems like it would be, but it's not. It's a different frame of mind, and it's hard to describe because people think you're gilding the lily - you're trying to dress up your $25K investment in a boat anchor.

I have a Nissan Leaf, and I wouldn't recommend them to any individual or family who doesn't have a second car. Urban dwellers are usually better off having no car, with the associated parking headaches and lots of public transportation available.

For a two-car family, they're ideal. In my family it gets used for anywhere from 70-90% of our driving. With all that driving you would think that public recharging would be required, but what ends up happening is you plug it in when you get home and it's filling up while you're doing other things. I drive more than 100 miles/day occasionally, but because it's being charged up between trips you get much more than one charge of range. I have a Chargepoint card that I'm starting to use a little more (I had to use it once in an emergency where I would have run down) but so far it's been about 12,000 miles with maybe half a dozen charges away from home.

No trips to the gas station, no oil or tuneups, and great pickup. I guess the bottom line is whether people regret buying them, and their customer satisfaction is among the highest of any car. Take one for a drive sometime, they're very cool, and they're starting to catch on.

[BlueStreak]

34. For me, that would work as a SECOND car if it had twice the range

but I still can't see organizing my life around charging stations. If it had a RELIABLE 150-200 mile range, then I could use it as a second car without too many problems. There are many days that I have 2 trips of 60 miles or so.

So I guess the Tesla is already in my range -- for a $75K second car.

But even that would be a major lifestyle change. My wife and I both do a lot of charitable activities, and we cannot entirely control the schedule of our trips. Most days we are both driving somewhere at the same time. So with a range-impaired second car, we'd have to begin each day with a negotiation of who had the shorter drive for the day. I'm thinking that isn't going to go well in my household.

[OKIsItJustMe]

33. Pressurization may not be the challenge you imagine

http://world.honda.com/FuelCell/SolarHydrogenStation/

[font face=Serif]…

[font size=5]Honda begins experimental operation of next-generation Solar Hydrogen Station for household use.[/font]

[font size=3]With the goal of replacing fossil fuels, reducing emissions and combating climate change, Honda has worked proactively to development of fuel cell electric vehicles, which it views as the ultimate clean mobility of the future. Also believing it crucial to eliminate CO[font size=1]₂[/font] emissions that result from the production, storage and supply of hydrogen fuel, Honda is engaged in the research and development of advanced H[font size=1]₂[/font] infrastructure technologies.

Since 2001, Honda has operated an experimental solar-powered water electrolyzing hydrogen station in Los Angeles, California. In January 2010 in the same location, Honda began experimental operation of a next-generation Solar Hydrogen Station that is small enough to fit in a typical household garage. To produce high-pressure hydrogen, the previous station required not only an electrolyzer but also a separate compressor unit. For the next-generation Solar Hydrogen Station, Honda developed a new high-differential pressure electrolyzer that combines electrolysis and compression functions in a single unit.Since a separate compressor is no longer necessary, the Solar Hydrogen Station is more compact, quieter and lower in cost, making home hydrogen supply a more realistic option going forward.

In March 2012, Honda installed at the Saitama Prefectural Office Japan's first solar hydrogen station that emits zero CO[font size=1]₂[/font] through the entire process of producing, storing, and supplying hydrogen. This project, conducted in a public-private partnership with Saitama Prefecture and Iwatani Corporation, was commissioned by Japan's Ministry of the Environment and seeks to verify new technologies for realizing the low-carbon society of the future.

…

By operating next-generation Solar Hydrogen Stations, Honda seeks to enhance the efficiency of sustainable energy supply technologies while identifying and solving any issues that may stand in the way of full commercialization of hydrogen production and supply stations.

…[/font][/font]

http://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/pdfs/progress11/ii_e_3_dunn_2011.pdf

[font face=Serif][font size=5]II.E.3 High-Capacity, High Pressure Electrolysis System with Renewable Power Sources[/font]

…

[font size=4]Results[/font]

[font size=3]Avãlence has existing technology that is globally unique in its ability to deliver hydrogen directly at storage-ready pressures of 2,500 and 6,500 psi without a separate compressor. Using an alkaline electrolyte process, the Avãlence Hydrofiller systems integrate the production and compression processes by operating the electrolytic cells at the desired delivery pressure. The systems can interface directly with renewable electricity supplies and have been shown in previous work (DOE Small Business Innovation Research project completed in April 2005) that the electrolyzer operates through the full range of voltages output from the connected photovoltaic (PV) array without using any power conditioning equipment. These characteristics result in a renewable hydrogen production and delivery system that is significantly more efficient and reliable, and substantially less expensive than existing commercially available electrolyzer and compressor system sets. The smaller scale Hydrofillers are based on a single cathode/anode tubular cell design with production capability of about 0.1 kg/day per cell. A revolutionary design approach to this high-pressure cell core is needed for an order-of-magnitude capacity scale up of the individual electrolyzer modules.

…

[font size=4]Introduction[/font]

Initial test work on nested components, with passive circulation, was conducted during the first quarter of FY 2011. The test results from one nested set did demonstrate substantial recirculation (driven only passively at this point). The recirculation had a very positive effect in that purity of hydrogen (before the catalyst) increased from 98.5% typical at 2,200 psig to >99.5% at 2,200 psig. The recirculation resulted in less dwell time inside the cells for the gas bubbles and therefore less opportunity to diffuse or leak by whatever minute paths exist. This is an indication that Avãlence should be able to return to high pressure operation (6,000 psig) with no compressor, and stay below the required safety limit of 2% impurity before the catalysts. The test cell, with five nested electrodes, will use active circulation, which should further reduce dwell time, so even better results are anticipated. In support of the multi electrode testing, Avãlence has selected circulation pumps for testing of the five nested electrodes.

Based on the tests conducted during the first quarter of FY 2011 and additional analysis, there is a problem of excessive voltage drop associated with axial electrical conductivity in the nested set of 316 stainless steel electrodes. As a result, additional design work was undertaken to decrease electrical resistance within the cells and associated with pass through (sealed) conductors. This is focusing on the selection and construction of the anodes and cathodes that provide the axial conductivity and electrical pass through, and which are also of acceptable cost. The test cell design is limited to 3’ height due to concern over voltage loss axially. This means that the pilot plant cells at 6’ will require that electrical connections are made at both ends of the electrodes or another solution is devised in order to improve the conductivity. For example, it is possible to solve this problem with a change in material (to nickel for example), but this is costly. Avãlence is working on other concepts such as layering (cladding) the electrodes to deliver both the conductivity required and to manage the cost.

Lastly, design work focused on how to align the plurality of electrodes and membranes top and bottom for better manufacturability. This is being addressed by securing the membranes and inner electrodes to a top alignment mount made of PVC that will be glued to the upper gas manifold (also made of PVC). The relatively thin membranes will be reinforced at the bottom with a PVC guide ring glued to the membranes. The membranes and electrodes are attached to a PVC bottom alignment guide, and the entire assembly can then be inserted into an outer anode and flange assembly. Avãlence is researching the manufacture and supply of stiff tubular membranes made by casting a membrane material onto a rigid ceramic, extruded PVC, or other support.

…[/font][/font]

[oldhippie]

23. Think of the market for ...

... BIG diodes for do it yourselfers if this V2G thing happens. First thing I would do is put a BIG diode in the charge line.

We can clean up, I tell ya!

[kristopher]

41. The name of the team leader might be familiar to some longtime EE readers

Nature Nanotechnology 3, 31 - 35 (2008)
Published online: 16 December 2007 | doi:10.1038/nnano.2007.411
Subject Category: Electronic properties and devices

High-performance lithium battery anodes using silicon nanowires
Candace K. Chan1, Hailin Peng2, Gao Liu3, Kevin McIlwrath4, Xiao Feng Zhang4, Robert A. Huggins2 & Yi Cui2

Abstract
There is great interest in developing rechargeable lithium batteries with higher energy capacity and longer cycle life for applications in portable electronic devices, electric vehicles and implantable medical devices1. Silicon is an attractive anode material for lithium batteries because it has a low discharge potential and the highest known theoretical charge capacity (4,200 mAh g-1; ref. 2). Although this is more than ten times higher than existing graphite anodes and much larger than various nitride and oxide materials3, 4, silicon anodes have limited applications5 because silicon's volume changes by 400% upon insertion and extraction of lithium which results in pulverization and capacity fading2. Here, we show that silicon nanowire battery electrodes circumvent these issues as they can accommodate large strain without pulverization, provide good electronic contact and conduction, and display short lithium insertion distances. We achieved the theoretical charge capacity for silicon anodes and maintained a discharge capacity close to 75% of this maximum, with little fading during cycling.

Some might be interested in the patent. Sorry for the length, but I don't have a link only the downloaded PDF.

Patent title: Nanowire Battery Methods and Arrangements
Inventors: Yi Cui Candace K. Chan
Agents: CRAWFORD MAUNU PLLC
Assignees:
Origin: ST. PAUL, MN US
IPC8 Class: AH01M436FI
USPC Class: 42923195

Abstract:
A variety of methods and apparatus are implemented in connection with a battery. According to one such arrangement,
an apparatus is provided for use in a battery in which ions are moved. The apparatus comprises a substrate and a
plurality of growth-rooted nanowires. The growth-rooted nanowires extend from the substrate to interact with the ions.

Claims:
1. An apparatus for use in a battery in which ions are moved, comprising:a substrate; anda plurality of nanowires, each
being growth-rooted from the substrate and having an outer surface with molecules that interact with the ions.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising first and second current collectors, wherein one of the current collectors
includes the substrate and the nanowires.
3. The apparatus of claim 2, further comprising a lithium-based ion transporter located between the current collectors.
4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the lithium-based ion transporter provides lithium ions for radial diffusion into the
nanowires.
5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the nanowires include silicon.
6. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the nanowires are sufficiently small that they transport electrons in only one
dimension.
7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the nanowires have an average outer diameter in a range from 10 to 100
nanometers.
8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the nanowires include crystalline-state structures.
9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the nanowires include amorphous-state structures.
10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the nanowires do not include carbon nanotubes.
11. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an ion transporter and first and second current collectors located on
either side of the ion transporter, wherein one of the current collectors functions as part of the anode of the battery and
includes the substrate and the nanowires.
12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the ions and the nanowires are composed of first and second materials,
respectively, that are different from one another, and wherein the nanowires include alloy structures formed from the
first and second materials and formed during cycling of the battery.
13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the ions include Lithium ions and the nanowires include Silicon, and wherein
the alloy structures include Lithium and Silicon.
14. A battery having a stable energy capacity, comprising:an ion transporter to transport ions;a first current collector on
one side of the ion transporter; anda second current collector, located on another side of the ion transporter, including a
substrate and a plurality of solid nanowires that are growth-rooted from the substrate and that interact with the ions to
set the stable energy capacity greater than about 2000 mAh/g.
15. A battery that is recharged, comprising:an ion transporter to transport ions;a first current collector on one side of the
ion transporter; anda second current collector, located on another side of the ion transporter, including a substrate and
a plurality of solid nanowires that are growth-rooted from the substrate and that interact with the ions to set a maximum
capacitive fading between subsequent battery cycling at less than about 25 percent.
16. The battery of claim 15, wherein, in a discharge state, the solid nanowires are one of Si, Ge and Sn.
17. The battery of claim 15, wherein, in a discharge state, the solid nanowires include an alloy of one of Si, Ge and Sn
and of another material.
18. The battery of claim 15, wherein substantially all of the solid nanowires are directly connected to the substrate.
19. The battery of claim 15, wherein, in a charge state, the solid nanowires have amorphous portions that include an
alloy formed from the combination of the solid nanowires and the ions.
20. A battery having an energy capacity, comprising:a first current collector having a substrate;a second current
collector;an ion transporter located between the first and second current collectors, the ion transporter providing ions;
anda layer of nanowires having a layer height equal to the length of about one of the nanowires, the layer of nanowires
including nanowires extending from the substrate toward the ion transporter to combine with ions from the ion
transporter, and setting the energy capacity for the battery.
21. The battery of claim 20, wherein the nanowires include a material chemically bound to the substrate and wherein
the energy capacity for the battery is greater than about 2000 mAh/g.
22. The battery of claim 20, wherein the nanowires are solid and growth-rooted from the substrate and are not carbon
nanotubes.
23. The battery of claim 20, wherein, in a discharge state, the nanowires are one of Si, Ge and Sn.
24. The battery of claim 20, wherein, in a discharge state, the nanowires include an alloy of one of Si, Ge or Sn and
another material.
25. The battery of claim 20, wherein the first current collector is an anodal current collector and the second current
collector is a cathodal current collector.
26. The battery of claim 25, wherein the energy capacity for the battery is less than about 2000 mAh/g.
27. The battery of claim 20, wherein substantially all of the nanowires are directly connected to the substrate.
28. The battery of claim 20, wherein a majority of the nanowires have an angle greater than about 60 degrees from the
end located on the substrate and a second end, the angle being such that 90 degrees is perpendicular to a surface of
the substrate at which the first end is located.
29. The battery of claim 20, wherein the nanowires include one of a metal oxide and a metal nitride.
30. A battery, comprising:a first current collector;a second current collector;an ion transporter located between the first
and second current collectors and one of the collectors including a substrate; andsolid nanowires to combine with ions
provided by the ion transporter for defining the nominal energy capacity, wherein a preponderance of the solid
nanowires are located on the substrate and have an end located on the substrate.
31. The battery of claim 30, wherein the battery has a nominal energy capacity that is defined as a function of the solid
nanowires that combine with ions provided by the ion transporter and of the ability of the solid nanowires to deliver
power to the substrate.
32. The battery of claim 30, wherein the solid nanowires provide an average energy capacity of greater than about
2000 mAh/g.
33. The battery of claim 30, wherein a majority of the solid nanowires have an angle greater than about 60 degrees
from the end located on the substrate and a second end, the angle being such that 90 degrees is perpendicular to a
surface of the substrate at which the first end is located.
34.-37. (canceled)
38. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the nanowires have an average outer diameter that is greater than 50
nanometers.
39. The battery of claim 14, wherein the nanowires have an average outer diameter that is less than 300 nanometers.
40. The battery of claim 15, wherein the nanowires have an average outer diameter in a range from 50 to 300 nanometers.
41. A battery having a stable energy capacity, comprising:an ion transporter to transport ions;a substrate;a first current collector on one side of the ion transporter; anda second current collector, located on another side of the ion transporter, including the substrate and a plurality of solid nanowires that are growth-rooted from the substrate and that interact with the ions to set the stable energy capacity greater than about 2000 mAh/g, and each of the plurality of nanowires having an outer surface with molecules that interact with the ions.



Description:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001]The present invention relates generally to ion battery arrangement and methods, and more particularly to nanowire-based electrode arrangements and approaches involving the assembly or manufacture of nanowire electrode arrangements.

BACKGROUND
[0002]The demand for batteries with high energy capacity, low weight and long lifetime has become increasingly important in a variety of fields and industries, including those relating to portable electronic devices, electric vehicles, and implantable medical devices. For example, the energy capacity, weight and cycle life characteristics are often useful for improving the functionality of a particular device in which the batteries are used. In portable electronic devices and implantable medical devices, these and other related aspects are useful to allow for increases in power (e.g., from additional processing power) and/or reduction in the size of the devices. In electric vehicles, these aspects are often limiting factors in the speed, power and operational range of the electric vehicles.
[0003]Various commercial embodiments of batteries function as an electrochemical cell that stores and converts chemical energy from chemical oxidation and reduction reactions into a useable electrical form. The chemical reactions occur in the materials composing the two electrodes of the battery, such as reduction occurring in the cathode and oxidation occurring in the anode. These reactions are due in part to a difference in electrochemical potential between the materials comprising the anode and cathode. In many ion-based batteries, the two materials electrodes are separated by an ionic conductor, such as an electrolyte, that is otherwise electrically insulating. Each electrode material is electrically connected to an electronically conducting, preferably metallic, material sometimes called the current collector. The current collectors can then be connected to one another using an external circuit that allows for electron transfer therebetween. To equalize the potential difference, the anode releases ions (e.g., by oxidizing to form the ions) when electrons are allowed to flow through the external circuit. The flow of electrons is balanced by the flow of ions through the electrolyte. The ions then react with the chemically reactive material of the cathode. The number of ions that a material can accept is known as the specific capacity of that material. Battery electrode materials are often defined in terms of the energy capacity per weight, for example in mAh/g. Much research has been devoted to creating and developing higher energy density electrode materials for higher capacity batteries.
[0004]A specific type of battery is a Lithium-ion battery, or Li-ion battery. Li-ion batteries transport Li ions between electrodes to effect charge and discharge states in the battery. One type of electrode uses graphite as the anode. Graphite anodes have reversible (rechargeable) capacities that are on the order of 372 mAh/g. Graphite anodes function by intercalation of Li ions between the layered-structure. A limitation in some graphitic anodes is that Li is saturated in graphite at the LiC6 stoichiometry. Materials that can allow for larger amounts of Li insertion, therefore, have been attractive for use as high capacity Li battery anodes.
[0005]Some alternatives to graphite anodes utilize storage mechanisms that do not involve the intercalation of Li ions between layered-structure materials. For example, some transition metal oxides use a conversion mechanism that can provide relatively high energy anodes of 700 mAh/g. Other alternatives include elements, such as Si, Sn, Bi, and Al, which form alloys with Li through Li insertion. Some of these elements provide relatively large theoretical energy capacities. Often such elements exhibit a volume change during Li insertion. For example, pure Si has a theoretical capacity of 4200 mAh/g for Li4 4Si, but has been shown to produce as much as a 400% volume change during Li insertion (alloying). In films and micron-sized particles, such volume changes may cause the Si to pulverize and lose contact with the current collector, resulting in capacity fading and short battery lifetime. Electrodes made of thin amorphous Si may exhibit improvements in capacity stability over many cycles, but such films seldom have enough active material for a viable battery. Attempts to increase conductivity using conducting carbon additives have not completely solved such problems, since upon dealloying (delithiation), the particles may contract, and thereby, lose contact with the carbon. Si anodes have been prepared with a polymer binder such as poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) to attempt to hold the particles together, but the elasticity properties of PVDF may not be sufficient for the large Si volume change and do not completely mitigate the poor conductivity. This results in a low coulombic efficiency and poor cyclability. For example, the use of 10 ?m sized Si particles mixed with carbon black and PVDF has been shown to result in a first discharge capacity of 3260 mAh/g; however, the charge capacity is only 1170 mAh/g, indicating a poor coulombic efficiency of only 35%. After 10 cycles, the capacity also faded to 94%. Moreover, conductive additives and binders add weight to the electrode, lowering the overall gravimetric and volumetric capacities of the battery.
[0006]These and other characteristics have been challenging to the design, manufacture and use of Li-alloy materials in Li-battery anodes. A solution has been to use nanostructure battery electrode materials. Nanomaterials include nanowires, nanoparticles, and nanotubes, all of which have at least one dimension in the nanometer dimension. Nanomaterials have been of interest for use in Li batteries because they have better accommodation of strain, higher interfacial contact area with the electrolyte, and short path lengths for electron transport. These characteristics may lead to improved cyclability, higher power rates, and improved capacity. Current efforts, however, leave room for improvement.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007]The present invention is directed to overcoming the above-mentioned challenges and others related to the types of applications discussed above and in other applications. These and other aspects of the present invention are exemplified in a number of illustrated implementations and applications, some of which are shown in the figures and characterized in the claims section that follows.
[0008]According to one example embodiment, an apparatus is provided for use in a battery. The apparatus provides high energy capacity through the novel use of nanowires that alloy with the ions. A specific example of the apparatus employs nanowires constructed from materials other than carbon to alloy with Li.sup.+ ions during a charge state of the battery and to release the Li.sup.+ ions during a discharge state. Careful growth of the nanowires directly from the substrate, which is connected to the current collector, can provide an apparatus having nanowires that are substantially all directly connected to the substrate and that extend therefrom.
[0009]According to another embodiment, an apparatus is provided for use in a battery in which ions are moved. The apparatus comprises a substrate and a plurality of nanowires, each being growth-rooted from the substrate and each having an outer surface with molecules that interact with the ions.
[0010]According to another embodiment of the invention, a battery is provided that has a stable energy capacity. The battery comprises an ion transporter to provide ions; a first current collector on one side of the ion transporter; and a second current collector, located on another side of the ion transporter. The second current collector includes a substrate and a plurality of solid nanowires that are growth-rooted from the substrate and that interact with the ions to set the stable energy capacity greater than about 2000 mAh/g.
[0011]According to another embodiment of the invention, a battery that is recharged is provided. The battery comprises an ion transporter to provide ions, a first current collector on one side of the ion transporter and a second current collector that is located on another side of the ion transporter and that includes a substrate and a plurality of solid nanowires. The solid nanowires are growth-rooted from the substrate and interact with the ions to set a maximum capacitive fading between subsequent energy charges at less than about 25 percent.
[0012]According to another embodiment of the invention, a battery is provided that has an energy capacity. The battery comprises a first current collector having a substrate, a second current collector, an ion transporter located between the first and second current collectors, the ion transporter providing ions, and a layer of nanowires. The layer of nanowires has a layer height equal to the length of about one of the nanowires. The layer of nanowires also includes nanowires that extend from the substrate toward the ion transporter to combine with ions from the ion transporter and that set the energy capacity for the battery.
[0013]According to another embodiment of the invention, a battery is provided. The battery comprises a first current collector, a second current collector, an ion transporter located between the first and second current collectors and one of the collectors including a substrate, and solid nanowires to combine with ions provided by the ion transporter for defining the nominal energy capacity. A preponderance of the solid nanowires are located on the substrate and have an end located on the substrate.
[0014]According to another embodiment of the invention, a method of an electrode arrangement that has a substrate for connecting to a current collector is implemented. The electrode arrangement is designed for use in a battery. The method comprises the step of growing solid nanowires from the substrate.
[0015]According to another embodiment of the invention, a method is implemented for assembling an electrode arrangement for use in a battery. The method comprises attaching a substrate with growth-rooted solid nanowires to a current collector, forming a current collector assembly with an ion transporter located between the substrate and current collector and another current collector; and placing the current collector assembly within a housing.
[0016]The above summary is not intended to describe each illustrated embodiment or every implementation of the present invention.