Energy Storage for Hybrid Vehicles

Energy Storage for Hybrid Vehicles
How does it feel to have the best of both worlds? People who are using hybrid cars might have a taste of it. Hybrid technology tries to combine the advantages of combustion engines and electric motors. This way a person can save fuel especially in an urban environment. But the million dollar question is how to improve the performance of storage units? How to make high performance storage units safe for the end user?

If a vehicle consumes petroleum on the freeway and electricity in town then it can reduce its fuel consumption considerably. We use up substantial amount of fuel while starting a vehicle and when we are putting on brakes. A hybrid vehicle’s propulsion system switches over to generator operation during these two high fuel consuming activities. The generator produces electricity which is normally stored in the battery.

But storage problem has always bugged the hybrid technology. Researchers from three Fraunhofer Institutes are tackling trouble by developing new storage modules in a project called “Electromobility Fleet Test”.

The pilot project was launched by Volkswagen and Germany’s Federal Ministry for the Environment BMU in collaboration with seven other partners. The Fraunhofer Institutes for Silicon Technology ISIT in Itzehoe, Integrated Circuits IIS in Nuremberg, and Integrated Systems and Device Technology IISB in Erlangen will be combining their expertise and resources for the next three years. The scientists are concentrating on the energy storage unit with the help of lithium-polymer accumulator technology considered appropriate for use in hybrid vehicles. The team is concentrating on harsh environmental conditions and long life of the storage unit with high operational reliability. None of these three elements can be compromised in a storage system.


Space is another constrain for a storage device. So the experts are also looking into new concepts that will facilitate large amounts of energy to be packed in a small space. To achieve this, they are integrating mechanical and electrical components in a single module, devising systems for temperature control, performance data registration and high-voltage safety. The whole process of development and configuration of the new energy storage module is expected to culminate by mid-2010. Volkswagen AG – the industrial partner in this project – will then carry out field trials to test the modules’ suitability for everyday use in the vehicles.

Plastic Solar Cells For Electronic Devices

Plastic Solar Cells For Electronic Devices

At this time silicon-based solar cells are flooding this market. Industry commentators can expect to have a positive future for low-cost, flexible solar cells. If we can make pv devices besides silicon based materials then they might be used for a lot of applications beyond just the regular solar cells on house rooftops. It'll be great if we can have solar cells for portable electronic devices too.

Luping Yu, Teacher in Biochemistry, and Yongye Liang, any Ph. D. student, both at the University connected with Chicago, and all 5 co-authors are working to create a new semiconducting stuff called PTB1, which usually converts sunlight into energy. The College or university accredited your patent rights on the technology to be able to Solarmer very last September. The license protects numerous polymers within development in Yu’s laboratory work, confirmed by Matthew Martin. He or she is a venture manager at UChicagoTech, your University’s Place of work of Technology and Mental Property. The patent will be pending.

Solarmer Strength Inc. is distributing its wings within this direction. They are going to incorporate technologies invented at the University connected with Chicago. The commercial-grade prototype will be completed at the conclusion of this season. It will be of 8 square inches width (50 sq centimeters) and use of three several years. This cheap solar device can have the performance of 8 percent. This 8 percent efficiency will offer an edge on the Solarmer Strength Inc. around its opposition. Dina Lozofsky, vice us president of IP progress and proper alliances at Solarmer declares, “Everyone in the industry is within the 5 percent to 6 percent range. ”

Executive expertise connected with Solarmer’s product with Yu along with Liang’s semiconducting stuff, push your material’s performance even increased. Solarmer is based in El Monte, Calif., along with was started in 2006. They are available forth to be able to commercialize your technology produced in Teacher Yang Yang’s laboratory at the University connected with California, L . a .. The business is establishing flexible, translucent plastic solar cells that generate low-cost, clean energy through the sun.

The lively layer connected with PTB1 is around 100 nanometers thick and your width is almost 1, 000 atoms. If we should produce a bit of the PTB1 material it will require considerable timeframe, and the full procedure will be multi-step course of action. But still the largest advantage of the technology is based on its ease. Several products are synthesized in other laboratories in america but your competitive advantage is based on the methods of production too. Other products need far more extensive engineering benefit commercial viability. “We think that our program has probable, ” Yu explained. “The very best system thus far reported will be 6. 5 percent, but that’s not a single product. That’s two devices. ”