Researchers at the University of California, Riverside’s Bourns College of Engineering have developed a novel paper-like material for lithium-ion batteries. It has the potential to boost by several times the specific energy, or amount of energy that can be delivered per unit weight of the battery. This paper-like material is composed of sponge-like silicon nanofibers more than 100 times thinner than human hair. It could be used in batteries for electric vehicles and personal electronics.

Next Big Future: Silicon Nanofibers could boost lithium battery energy density by ten times

Supercapacitors are often hailed as the holy grail of power supplies, but a group of researchers at the University of Illinois have developed a lithium-ion microbattery that leaves that prized solution in the dust, recharging 1,000 times faster than competing tech. Previous work done by Professor William P. King, who led the current effort, resulted in a fast-charging cathode with a 3D microstructure, and now the team has achieved a breakthrough by pairing it with an anode devised in a similar fashion. The resulting battery is said to be the most powerful in the world, avoiding the usual trade-off between longevity and power while having a footprint of just a few millimeters.

Tiny lithium-ion battery recharges 1000x faster than rival tech, could shrink mobile devices

The hardware is called Kraftwerk, after the german for "power station," rather than the pioneering electronica band of the same name. All a user has to do is squirt in a measure of lighter fuel or camping gas, and the company claims you'll be able to refill an iPhone 11 times over. eZelleron is making some big claims about the efficacy, efficiency and safety of its new product, saying that it'll be safe to stash in your pocket and will even be allowed into an aircraft cabin.

Would you put a gas-powered iPhone charger in your pocket?

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has developed a zinc-polyiodide flow battery with a high energy density that will ensure that the power grid can keep the lights on in large cities. Page 1 of 1 The PNNL zinc-polyiodide flow battery reduces the battery's size and cost and makes it well suited to store energy in densely populated cities and provides a battery that packs far more energy than any other battery of its kind and size.

Can flow battery advance lower urban power costs? - Electronics Eetimes

Australia has some of the highest electricity prices in the world due to an overbuild of network infrastructure. Could falling battery costs cause increasing numbers of customers to abandon the system altogether? Solar power installers in the country say the cost of batteries is the only thing holding back more widespread consumer grid defection in the residential sector. Australia is already in the midst of a rooftop solar boom as grid customers look to offset the rising cost of utility power. Almost one-fifth of Australian households now use solar panels for electricity or hot water, tempted by three- to four-year payback times and national rebates that reduce the upfront cost of a PV system.

As Battery Costs Fall, Australia Is a Test Case for Grid Defection : Greentech Media

The U.S. is on the cusp of a breakout year for energy storage, according to the inaugural U.S. Energy Storage Monitor report from GTM Research and the Energy Storage Association (ESA). The country is forecasted to deploy 220 megawatts in 2015, more than three times its 2014 total, and growth should continue at a rapid clip thereafter.

US Energy Storage Market to Grow 250% in 2015 : Greentech Media

Consider the crash effort at the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research in suburban Chicago. Within five years, researchers want to create one or more battery types that can “store at least five times more energy than today’s batteries at one-fifth the cost,” according to George Crabtree, an agreeable silver-haired scientist who runs the U.S. Department of Energy-backed battery-research skunkworks.

Battery Hackers Are Building the Future in the Garage - Bloomberg Business

A lithium-ion battery that stores twice as much energy is a step closer to commercialization thanks to a deal with the U.K. home appliance company Dyson.+ The startup Sakti3 announced today that it has signed a joint development agreement with Dyson, which makes vacuum cleaners and other appliances, to incorporate its batteries into new products. The companies didn’t say when those products will be available, but one could be a cordless vacuum cleaner. Dyson also announced a $15 million investment in the startup.

Dyson Agrees to use a Battery That Promises Twice the Energy | MIT Technology Review

Within the decade ahead, the price level for traction batteries will decline by 75 percent, predicted Bosch CEO Volkmar Denner at the technology congress of the German Automotive Industry Association (VDA). At the same time, electronic systems will contribute to significantly improve the energy efficiency of vehicles.

Bosch CEO predicts cheaper batteries, networked traffic - Electronics Eetimes

Researchers from the University of South Carolina and Clemson University claim to have discovered a way of improving the efficiency of batteries and fuel cells by using the material gadolinium doped ceria (GDC).

Is GDC the future for more efficient batteries? - Electronics Eetimes

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have taken a step closer towards the development of a battery that could outperform the lithium-ion technology used in electric cars. The team of researchers have replaced lithium ions, each of which carries a single positive charge, with magnesium ions, which have a plus-two charge, in battery-like chemical reactions, using an electrode with a structure that is similar to those in many of today's devices.

Magnesium ions for car batteries - Electronics Eetimes

Researchers the University of Wisconsin–Madison and Brookhaven National Laboratory have developed a novel X-ray imaging technique to study the electrochemical reactions in lithium-ion rechargeable batteries containing iron fluoride which can store three times the energy of existing batteries. “Iron fluoride has the potential to triple the amount of energy a conventional lithium-ion battery can store,” explained Song Jin, a UW–Madison professor of chemistry and Wisconsin Energy Institute affiliate. “However, we have yet to tap its true potential.”

Iron fluoride to triple energy storage? - Electronics Eetimes

Tesla next week will unveil a new line of electric batteries for use in the home and by businesses, Bloomberg reports. The batteries, however, have already been installed in nearly a dozen Wal-Mart stores as part of a test program.

Wal-Mart is already using Tesla's new batteries - Business Insider

“Iron fluoride has the potential to triple the amount of energy a conventional lithium-ion battery can store,” explained Song Jin, a UW–Madison professor of chemistry and Wisconsin Energy Institute affiliate. “However, we have yet to tap its true potential.”

Iron fluoride to triple energy storage? - Electronics Eetimes