2009年11月30日月曜日

Electrolyte solution in use for the next generation 5-V class Li-ion battery

To increase the cruising distance of the electric vehicle, it is necessary to increase the energy density of the Li-ion cell. Research efforts are being vigorously made on new materials to increase the electrode energy capacity and the operating voltage worldwide.
Specially Appointed Prof. Dr. Fujinami, et al., Shizuoka University have developed an organic electrolyte, which operates under high voltage of 4 V, which is increased by 1 V when compared with the conventional battery cell. The organic electrolyte is the first in the world.
The electrolyte has a property of flame retardant, leading to increase of safety.
An additional advantageous feature of the organic electrolyte is that it uses boric acid. This material is cheap. The result is battery cost reduction.
Details of the study will be presented in the Battery NEDO session, which will start from November 30, 2009.
Electrolyte solution:
This unique electrolyte solution was formed in a manner that different electrolyte solutions are mixed to form a liquid, and lithium salt was dissolved into the liquid.
The electrolyte solution exhibits high ion conductivity and its lithium ion transport number is large.
(Written based on press release from NEDO)

Basic technology for using “lithium metal” for negative electrode

The research of the electrode materials for the lithium ion cell is currently in full flood. Lithium metal has been considered as the ultimate negative electrode material and studied for long time. The Li-ion cell capacity decreases for a relatively short time of period because of presence of the lithium metal deposition called lithium dendrite through the charging/discharging operation. For this reason, the lithium metal has not been used for the negative electrode of the Li-ion cell.

Prof. Dr. Kanemura et al. Tokyo Metropolitan University succeeded in developing a unique separator which inhibits the dendrite from growing.
In the experiment, no decrease of the cell capacity was observed after more than 2000 charge/discharge cycles. This fact leads to considerable increase of the energy density of the Li-ion cell and the cruising distance of the car carrying the battery. The researchers have successfully developed a production process capable of mass-producing the separators at low cost.

New technology for inhibiting dendrite growth:
Many studies have been made on the lithium dendrite deposition.
Most researchers have considered that the major cause for the dendrite deposition is that the lithium metal non-uniformly deposits on the negative electrode.
Dr. Kanemura et al. have developed anew a separator having a unique structure called a 3DOM structure, which enables the lithium metal to uniformly deposit on the negative electrode. The reversible charge/discharge capacity, when the unique separator is used, was 1000m Ah/g. The figure is about 3 times of the graphite materials currently used. Further increase of the reversible charge/discharge capacity is theoretically allowed. It was confirmed that no performance deterioration occurred after the charging and discharging operations were repeated.
(Written based on press release from NEDO)

Rechargeable battery: Its remarkable performance improvements, ensured by recent research results

NEDO’s research/development project on the next generation battery systems steadily progresses. Recently, NEDO announced four innovative battery cell technologies, which had emerged from the project.
Those technologies are:
1. Basic technology for putting “lithium metal” into practical use
– By Prof. Dr. Kanemura, Tokyo Metropolitan University
2. Electrolyte solution in use for the next generation 5-V class battery
- By Specially Appointed Prof. Dr. Fujinami, Shizuoka University
3. High capacity Li-ion cell using ionic liquid-electrolyte
- By Associate Prof. Dr. Komaba et al., Tokyo University of Science
4. Magnesium ion rechargeable battery
– By Saitama Industrial Technology Center
Details of the study will be presented in the Battery NEDO session, which will start from November 30, 2009.

Under strong demands of lowering carbon emissions and finding the best solutions to the limited resource problems, the clean and renewable energy is treated as a social subject. In this circumstance, the rechargeable battery has become one of the key devices.
The automobile has started to change its drive source from the internal combustion engine to an electric drive source. The rechargeable battery is one of the electrical drive sources, and the fuel cell is another prospective electrical drive device.
The rechargeable battery has another important function to level the output powers of the solar power generator and the wind power generator, which greatly change depending on weather and day and night. A watchful eye must be kept on this near-future key technology.
(Written based on press release from NEDO)

2009年11月23日月曜日

Kerosene-fueled 3-kW SOFC system, successfully co-developed


An SOFC power generation system using kerosene available on the market.
It has successfully generated electric power of 3 kW (at DC terminal).
It is designed mainly for small business applications.
It is co-developed by the following three companies:
1) Japan Energy Corporation (JOMO)
2) Sumitomo Precision Products Co., Ltd.
3) NGK Insulators, Ltd. (NGK)

Rough specifications
Rated output power: 3 kW
Primary fuel: kerosene sold on the market
Operating temperature: 750 deg. centigrade
Cell stack: passage-contained cell stack (manufactured by NGK)
Features
1) Start-up kerosene burner (developed by JOMO)
2) Efficient kerosene reforming process (developed anew by JOMO)
3) Cell stack of high power generation efficiency (developed anew by NGK)
4) Sophisticated heat management (developed anew by Sumitomo Precision)

The companies will evaluate the performances such as power generation efficiency, further increase the power generation efficiency, and reduce the size of the SOFC system, and has a plan to demonstrate the SOFC system in a real-load environment, aiming at commercializing the kerosene type SOFC system
(written based on press release from Japan Energy Corporation)
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2009年11月20日金曜日

Hiroshima University collaborates with LANL on development of hydrogen storage non-metallic materials

The Chugoku Shimbun recently reported the following:
The Hiroshima University Institute for Advanced Materials Research has entered into a department-level academic exchange agreement with Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) to develop non-metallic materials for hydrogen storage.
Specifically, hydrogen is stored in the form of a chemical compound of boron and nitride. The compound is light in weight and its hydrogen storage capability is large when compared with the hydrogen-storage metallic materials currently used. The amount of hydrogen that the compound can store is theoretically about 20% of the compound when calculated by weight. It is approximately 10 times of the nickel hydrogen battery. The compound, if successfully developed, will reduce the hydrogen tank in size and weight. Additional advantages are: 1) boron and nitrogen are more abundant than rare metals, and 2) easily available.
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2009年11月17日火曜日

Patent Prosecution Highway Pilot Programs start among Japan, USA and Europe early next year

Two meetings of heads of JPO, EPO and USPTO were held at KYOTO on November 12 and 13, 2009. One is the heads meeting of JPO and EPO, and other other is the heads meeting of JPO, USPTO and EPO. The followings were decided in the meetings.

1. The PPH (patent prosecution highway) pilot programs will start among the JPO, the EPO and the USPTO on January 29, 2010. This was decided at the meeting of the heads of the JPO and EPO (November 12), and the meeting of the heads of the JPO, the USPTO and the EPO, ((November 13)), which were held in Kyoto.
The PPH has already been launched between the JPO and the USPTO on January 4, 2008.

2. In the trilateral meeting, it was also decided that the early examination rule of the PPH applied to the PCT-based patent application, which had been determined to be patentable by the International Searching Authority or the International Preliminary Examining Authority in any of the trilateral patent offices of Japan.
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Patent Prosecution Highway = PPH:
In this program, when a patent application is matured to the patent in a country, the examination of the corresponding patent application, which was filed in another country, is quickened upon request of the applicant. The programs enable the companies to quickly and easily obtain patent rights in other countries than those to which the companies belong.
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2009年11月6日金曜日

Aquafairy enters production and sales stage of micro-FC based battery chargers


Credited by Aquafairy Corporation

Aquafairy Corporation, which has been known as a developer of a unique micro fuel cell not using methanol, has completed the development of battery chargers based on the unique micro fuel cells, and entered the stage of production and sales of the chargers.

Aquafairy Corporation reached an agreement with GS Yuasa Power Supply Ltd. on the production and sales of the developed charges, which will be used for charging external batteries and built-in batteries of portable devices. [Copyright by FuelCell japan]
Upon the agreement, the companies have a plan to develop technologies for charging various types of GS Uasa's batteries, including lithium ion batteries, and integrally incorporate the battery mass production technologies into the charging technologies, with the intention of increasing the number of applied products.
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