But many people may not be aware that there are many other sources of renewable energy currently in use around the world, all helping to counterbalance the enormous carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels. Small projects are turning to dirt and microbes, underground stores of liquid magma and even pedestrian footsteps to harvest energy that would otherwise be wasted.
Six unexpected sources of renewable energy
Huawei (Shenzhen, China) has developed the world's first long-lifespan graphene-assisted Li-ion battery able to withstand high temperatures. Researchers at Watt Laboratory, part of Huawei's Central Research Institute, have used new graphene-based heat-resistant technologies that allow Li-ion batteries to remain functional in a 60°C environment, 10°C higher than the existing upper limit. This allows the graphene-assisted Li-ion batteries to operate twice as long as ordinary Li-ion batteries, potentially up to four years for batteries in infrastructure such as mobile phone basestations.
High-temp Li-ion battery breakthrough uses graphene-based tech | Smart2.0
A soon-to-be-released study from a supercapacitor manufacturer claims lithium-ion batteries could be reaching their physical energy density limits, calling their future usefulness into question. Using a “first-principles analysis,” Wolfgang Mack, vice president of business development at Menlo Park-based Capacitor Sciences, argues lithium-ion technology has reached 87 percent of its commercially achievable cell limit for energy density. “The point of diminishing returns for the contemporary chemistries of lithium-ion batteries is evident,” he said. “To achieve the remaining 13 percent of the commercially achievable cell limits will be costly and slow, with limited returns on investments.”
Are Lithium-Ion Batteries Reaching the Point of Diminishing Returns? | Greentech Media