As the adoption of electric vehicles becomes more widespread and automakers roll out new models, GE continues to lead the development of the critical infrastructure technology needed to connect all of those EVs to the grid. Last month, GE and Nissan announced a joint R&D effort to speed the creation of the charging infrastructure necessary for widespread EV adoption. And just recently, GE announced a partnership with Inovateus Solar to build solar-powered electric vehicle-charging carports, marrying two sustainable technologies. And now Spanish airports are getting in on the action: last week GE Energy Industrial Solutions teamed with Spanish energy supplier Endesa to supply and operate the EV-charging infrastructure for airport vehicles at four airports in Spain: in Madrid, Barcelona, Palma and Lanzarote.

Spanish airport operator AENA is just the sort of natural customer for switching to electric fleets: it will incorporate the EVs into the airports’ existing energy management infrastructure and the vehicles will be charged on off-peak overnight electricity tariffs. For now, the EVs are part of a three-year pilot program to assess the feasibility of switching the entire airport fleet to electric. GE will provide 53 of its DuraStation* electric vehicle chargers, which enable faster charging by integrating higher voltages and currents that require specialized equipment. In addition to charging systems like DuraStation and the Yves Behar-designed WattStation, GE Energy provides the full range of electrical systems and smart grid tech needed to build and manage a complete EV Infrastructure.

[Read More From Source: R&D Mag ]

The publication of two International EV charging Standards by the IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) lifts a major hurdle for the EV charging infrastructure, supporting the mass adoption of electric vehicles.

The two IEC International EV Standards reflect a global consensus on the plugs and sockets that are needed to charge EVs. They pull together the huge volume of research and development surrounding EV charging mechanisms from around the world, whilst addressing the diverse electricity infrastructure and regulations in different countries.

With their help it may be possible to avoid the very real risk that incompatible solutions would be developed by separate organizations in different regions, something that would clearly be against the best interests of the worldwide vehicle manufacturing industry. Different national approaches would thwart the mass marketability of EVs, requiring customizations that would lead to higher prices and slower market access.

A clear call for International EV charging Standards

Major car makers predict that up to 10% of cars sold in 2015 will be EVs and Dieter Zetsche, CEO of Mercedes-Benz, declared at a major motor show a few days ago: “Internal combustion engines’ days are numbered…”. With major manufacturers and countries driving this technology forward, related infrastructure development simply can’t wait.

[Read More From Source: SF Gate ]

The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)’s latest development is inspired by nature. They used the physicochemical phenomenon that helps water transport in trees to fill the porous electrodes of lithium-ion batteries more rapidly with liquid electrolyte. The new process increases the throughput of battery production and reduces investment costs.

The electrodes inside modern batteries are as porous with pore sizes in the micrometer range to facilitate a very large surface area for the chemical reactions during charge and discharge. “But the pores have to be filled completely with the electrolyte for optimized operation,” explains Dr. Wilhelm Pfleging from KIT. The liquid electrolyte is the transport medium, in which the charged ions can diffuse between anode and cathode in the battery. “Without electrolyte, there is no charge equalization inside and no electric current flow outside.”

Currently, significant time and expenditure in battery production results from trying to fill the small pores in conventional methods for maximizing battery performance. The liquid is forced to enter the material by expensive and time-consuming vacuum or storage processes at elevated temperatures. “Our new process allows reduction of this time span from several hours down to a few minutes,” confirms Pfleging. To improve the wetting properties of the electrodes, his team modified the electrodes by a mechanico-chemical technology. As a result, the electrolyte spreads very rapidly over the complete material and performance data of batteries based on this principle are much better.

[Read More From Source: KIT ]

Aleese ( Advanced Lithium Electrochemistry Co., Ltd.), a Taiwanese manufacturing company has presented its breakthrough innovation at the 220th Electrochemical Society (ECS) meeting held in Boston, United States. This double-layer nano-carbon coating technology, will allow olivine material to be coated with different carbon compounds with thicknesses less than 5 nm so as to improve the structural integrity of the material and enhance the life cycle of batteries by 2.7 times.

The experiments performed by Aleees’ research and development team showed that application of such a technology can increase the life cycle of batteries, around 2,000 recharges at present, to more than 5,400 recharges but still retain 80% of the battery cell’s capacity. This technology will have tremendous positive influence in electric vehicle commercialization by reducing overall vehicle price.

Aleees, the leading supplier of LFP cathode material internationally and the sole producer of LFP-nano co-crystalline olivine (LFP-NCO), announced today that the decade-long debate over patent rights involving its Li-ion battery material and carbon coating technology is coming to an end.  Aleees, one of only four companies granted global patent authorization, signed an agreement with LiFePO4+C Licensing AG on July 1st, 2011.

[Read More From Source: Business Wire ]