December 2008
Saft Ni-Cd battery systems will be installed in Sukhoi Superjet 100s to make the first civilian aircraft delivered by Sukhoi. See story below.
around the industry
Saft to Supply On-board Batteries for Russia
Sukhoi Superjet 100 family of regional passenger planes, the first series of aircraft to emerge from Russia's rejuvenated civil aerospace industry, will rely on Saft Ni-Cd batteries to provide starting power for the onboard auxiliary power unit and the emergency back-up systems.
The Sukhoi Superjet 100, designed and developed by Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Co. and marketed jointly with Alenia Aeronautica, is the first ever civil aircraft to be delivered to the market by Sukhoi.
Four 24V Saft Ni-Cd battery systems will be installed on each SSJ100. They have full approval from both the European Aviation Safety Agency and Russian airworthiness authorities. The key factors that persuaded Sukhoi to specify Saft batteries for the project was the reliability and low total cost of ownership of nickel-cadmium technology. First deliveries are scheduled for 3Q09.
System Meets RTO Requirements
A 1MW, 250kWhr battery storage system from Altair Nanotechnologies Inc. (Altairnano) of Reno, Nevada, has met the requirements to participate in the PJM Regional Transmission Organization (RTO) control area. This marks the first commercial acceptance of an advanced lithium-titanate battery to provide grid regulation services in one of the largest U.S. electricity markets ‚ 13 states and the District of Columbia serving about 51 million people.
Altairnano has a joint development agreement with AES Energy Storage LLC who completed the standard acceptance testing for regulation service within the PJM service territory in November. The unit is now available for commercial operation as a qualified market participant for regulation service by AES Energy Storage.
Utility Hits Milestone in Battery Performance
Southern California Edison of Rosemead, California has reached a major milestone in advanced battery performance after testing a Li-ion battery that demonstrated an equivalent lifespan of more than 180,000 miles in a commercial delivery van with minimal deterioration.
The battery, tested in a laboratory setting, uses a Johnson Control-Saft Li-ion battery subpack that is one-sixth of the actual battery size used in a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. The subpack has been tested continuously for two and a half years; testing continues to monitor the battery's performance.
Based on the results, the U.S. Department of Energy has provided SCE with a full-size Li-ion battery and has asked that it test and evaluate the battery's viability for passenger car application.
SCE is conducting its battery tests in support of the Electric Power Research Institute's evaluation of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.
EaglePicher Supplies Cells for Superbird 7
EaglePicher Technologies LLC of Joplin, Missouri, has supplied nickel hydrogen battery cells to Space Systems/Loral Inc. (SS/L) for the Superbird 7 satellite program. SS/L assembled the cells into two 36-cell 120Ah batteries, which provide power for the broadcast communication satellite when it is in the earth's shadow. SS/L provided the batteries to Mitsubishi Electric Corp., the manufacturer of the Superbird satellite.
Superbird 7 marks the 50th flight program awarded to EaglePicher under an agreement with SS/L. Established in 1993, the agreement calls for the design, manufacture and testing of nickel hydrogen battery cells to support a 15-year mission life in geosynchronous orbit.
In other news, EaglePicher has been awarded a contract to supply thermal batteries to Raytheon Missile System's Excalibur precision-guided projectile program.
Excalibur, a joint effort by Raytheon and BAE Systems Bofors of Sweden, provides precision-strike capability at long ranges for 155-millimeter howitzers. The batteries will power the actuators and electronics of the projectile, which control movement and steering.
EaglePicher, which has supplied thermal batteries to Excalibur since 1999, is to begin production on this latest contract this month at its Joplin manufacturing facility.
Lydall Acquires Microporous Film Manufacturer
Lydall Inc. Manchester, Connecticut, has acquired microporous film manufacturer DSM Solutech B.V. (Solutech) from Royal DSM N.V. Solutech (DSM) of Heerlen, The Netherlands. DSM developed Solupor® specialty microporous membranes. Solutech will be integrated into Lydall's performance materials business.
Solupor membranes are based on ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene and manufactured by a patented process. These membranes incorporate a unique combination of mechanical strength, chemical inertness, and high porosity in an open cell structure consisting of a micro-fibrillar, laminar network. The result is an exceptionally performing membrane film with processing robustness and operational longevity in highly demanding applications. Solupor is targeted in battery, fuel cell and supercapacitor applications plus FDA-regulated systems.
Bryson and Heller Join Miles EV Board of Directors
Bryson
Miles Electric Vehicles, a Santa Monica, California-based all-electric vehicle manu-facturer, has added Steven "Mac" Heller (pictured) and John E. Bryson to its board of directors.
Both men bring extensive utility industry and investment banking experience to the board. Heller is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School. Bryson is a graduate of Stanford University and Yale Law School who serves on the boards of such companies as The Boeing Co., The Walt Disney Co., W.M. Keck Foundation and California Endowment.
Bryson and Heller join current Miles Board members Miles Rubin, chairman and founder; Kevin Czinger, CEO; Alan Chesick, legal counsel; and Daniel Weiss, managing partner at Angeleno Group. TOP
Boston-Power's Batteries Available for Laptops
Boston-Power's next-generation Li-ion battery cell, Sonata™ , will soon be available to HP notebook customers as an upgrade option. Consumers will be able to purchase the HP batteries with Sonata technology in January for use with select HP consumer notebook PCs. The HP Enviro Series program notebook batteries will come with a three-year warranty, the longest battery warranty available from a notebook PC provider.
Initially targeting notebook PCs, Sonata's 'drop-in' form factor enables it to be used with existing notebook computers. This means that HP customers with compatible PCs can purchase Sonata-powered batteries to replace their existing batteries or use as a spare on long trips or plane flights. No system changes are required.
Companies Expand Lithium-ion Separator Operations
The Nikkei Daily reports that Japanese companies Asahi Kasei Corp. and Mitsubishi Plastics Inc. plan to strengthen operations for lithium-ion battery separators.
Asahi Kasei will invest ¥9 billion (about US$97 million) to double production capacity by spring 2010 at an existing plant in Moriyama, Shiga Prefecture, and a facility under construction in Hyuga, Miyazaki Prefecture. This will bring annual output capabilities to roughly 200 million square meters.
The Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corp. unit will spend ¥1 billion yen (about US$10.8 million) to start mass production of such separators at its Nagahama, Shiga Prefecture, plant next summer. Output capacity will come to 12 million square meters a year.
Porous Power Wins NREL Best Early Venture Title
Boulder, Colorado-based Porous Power Technologies, LLC has an answer to several common battery design dilemmas ‚ a line of laminatable microporous battery separators. And now, PPT has won top honors at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 2008 Industry Growth Forum Clean Energy Entrepreneur of the Year competition.
NREL's "Best Early Venture of the Year" designation comes with a $10,000 prize. PPT's CEO Tim Feaver says, "We are very excited to receive this honor. For us, this prize confirms the strategic importance of our Symmetrix™ line of separators, our company and our business model in helping clean up our environment and reduce our nation's dependence on foreign oil."
TUV Establishes Battery Testing Service
TÜV Rheinland Group China has established a testing service for batteries in South China, reports Bike Europe. Tests for lithium and lithium-ion batteries according to the recently published industrial standard Batso 01 are performed at the new battery laboratory in Shenzhen.
"We can support manufacturers, importers and retailers of batteries by offering a wide range of tests", says Timm Schernau from TÜV Rheinland Group China. "Besides testing according to Batso 01 (Battery Safety Organization), we also offer the mandatory tests required by the United Nations for shipping dangerous goods."
Since the March 2008 publication of the Batso 01 manual in Hsinchu, Taiwan, the Batso team has received more than 100 inquiries for battery testing from all over the world, especially from the U.S., Europe, China and Taiwan. The 44-page manual specifies testing methods and requirements for secondary lithium batteries for their safe application in light electric vehicles.
DOE Funding for Vehicle Battery Projects
The U.S. Department of Energy has selected three projects totaling up to $13.9 million in cost-shared cooperative agreements, DOE share of up to $6.85 million, subject to annual appropriations. The projects improve battery material performance and develop manufacturing processes to increase performance and decrease the cost of plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) batteries.
3M Company of St. Paul, Minnesota, has been selected for a three-year, up to $2.7 million, DOE share of up to $1.35 million, project to develop advanced negative electrode materials for PHEV Li-ion batteries. The anode alloy material will result in higher battery capacity while maintaining good charge/discharge performance.
BASF Catalyst LLC of Iselin, New Jersey, and Elyria, Ohio, has been selected for a 30-month, up to $5 million, DOE share of up to $2.5 million, project to develop an industrial process for the production of low cost Li-ion battery cathode materials. BASF will partner with battery developer Farasis Energy Inc. of Hayward, California.
FMC Corp. of Charlotte, North Carolina, has been selected for a three-year, up to $6.2 million, DOE share of up to $3 million, award to scale up production of stabilized lithium metal powder for high energy Li-ion battery cathodes. These powders can be used to produce battery cells with reduced losses during the initial cell charging.
TIMCAL Announces Increase
TIMCAL Graphite & Carbon has announced a global price increase for its products. The increase will be applied to each product family, including the TIMREX® line (natural graphite, synthetic graphite and cokes), the ROLLIT® (lubricants and descaling agents) and the TIMROC® (silicon carbides). The higher prices will be effective January 2009 and the amount of the increase will vary depending upon the grade and market area.
"This price increase is required to partially offset the continuation of cost increases we have faced in the past years," says Fabrizio Corti, vice president of sales and marketing of TIMCAL. "Although the TIMCAL Group is committed to optimizing its manufacturing processes to improve efficiency and absorb operating cost increases, this price adjustment is simply unavoidable." TOP
Battery Contract Awarded to International Battery
Experts at International Battery Inc. in Allentown, Pennsylvania are demonstrating the advantages of lithium- ion batteries over lead acid batteries in combat vehicle applications under terms of a $2.4 million U.S. Army research contract.
International Battery is doing the work for the Li-ion Battery Exchange program, which is part of the Army's combat vehicle and automotive advanced technology program.
Li-ion batteries provide four times the energy, half the weight, and longer life than lead acid battery systems, International Battery officials say. The company's 6TLi battery is the same size as the current lead acid battery, so soldiers in the field can exchange them easily.
International Battery will help the Department of Defense demonstrate the financial benefits of exchanging lead acid for Li-ion battery systems as well as support the war fighter with increased energy and power for several military applications.
Celgard Receives Battery Development Contract
Celgard LLC of Charlotte, North Carolina, has received a $2.3 million contract from the U.S. Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC) to develop separator technology for lithium-ion batteries for hybrid-electric (HEV) and plug-in hybrid-electric (PHEV) vehicles.
The 18-month cost-share contract involves demonstrating performance characteristics of high-temperature melt integrity (HTMI) lithium-ion battery separators, focusing on abuse tolerances, production process definition and scale-up parameters. A standard definition and protocol for measuring HTMI will also be developed as a part of this contract.
Creating standardized tests for measuring HTMI will enable automakers to use common specifications when evaluating and sourcing lithium batteries and provide benchmarks for battery performance.
Korea Pioneers Longer-Lasting Lithium Batteries
Lithium secondary batteries for portable electronic devices that can last eight times longer than existing batteries have been developed in South Korea.
Professor Cho Jae-phil of the Department of Applied Chemistry at Hanyang University said he and his team of researchers have developed cathode materials that can boost the storage capacity of lithium secondary batteries eight-fold. The batteries are commonly used in notebook computers, mobile phones and other portable devices.
In traditional Li-ion batteries, graphite, which is used in cathodes, can store a limited amount of Li-ion, cutting usage time to around two hours.
Cho said the eight-fold increase in storage capacity was achieved by using silicon instead of graphite.
Furukawa To Raise Output of Battery Copper Foil
Furukawa Electric Co. will build a copper foil factory by September 2010 to boost production capacity for the lithium-ion battery material by 50%, reports the Nikkei Weekly. The new factory with a floor space of about 4,000 square meters will be built at an existing site in Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan, at a cost of slightly more than ¥5 billion (about US$53.6 million). The new facility will be running at full capacity by the summer of 2012.
Copper foil is used in the negative terminals of lithium-ion batteries. Furukawa Electric currently controls 55% of the global market for copper foil used in batteries and supplies Sanyo Electric, Panasonic Corp. and Sony Corp.
Firefly Energy Receives 2008 ManTech Award
Firefly Energy Inc. of Peoria, Illinois, has been awarded $2 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Defense to further progress its microcell foam battery manufacturing processes for military applications.
The Manufacturing Technology award project, known as ManTech, is sponsored by the Defense Supply Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the Defense Logistics Agency in Ft. Belvoir, Virginia. It is designed to provide funding to U.S. companies and projects that serve important needs of multiple DoD services or agencies and have a high payoff when viewed from a broader DoD perspective.
