The Battery 500 Project recently held its kickoff meeting at IBM's Almaden Laboratory in San Jose, Calif., where leading scientists, engineers and other experts brainstormed about how to perfect the power source for all-electric automobiles.
As a part of IBM's 2-year-old Big Green Innovations program, the Battery 500 Project aims to boost the range of rechargeable batteries for all-electric cars from less than 100 miles today to as far as 500 miles. The consortium's efforts are being led by the Almaden Lab in collaboration with several U.S. universities and the Department of Energy's national labs.
"Batteries technology has improved, but is still far inferior to gasoline in terms of how much energy they hold," said Spike Narayan, a key IBM researcher. "The energy density—which is the amount of energy a lithium-ion battery stores per unit weight—is really not enough to produce a family-sized sedan with a 300- to 500-mile range."
The remedy, according to IBM, is to harness its nanoscale semiconductor manufacturing techniques to boost the capacity of batteries by increasing their storage density by 10 times over the lithium-ion batteries used today. The Battery 500 Project aims to achieve that goal with a lithium-air battery technology, whose feasibility was demonstrated earlier this year at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.
Lithium-air batteries are unique in that instead of being a sealed system, they couple to atmospheric oxygen—essentially harnessing the oxygen in the air as the cathode of the battery. Since oxygen enters the battery on-demand, it offers an essentially unlimited amount of reactant, metered only by the surface area of its electrodes. IBM believes its nanoscale semiconductor fabrication techniques can increase the surface area of the lithium-air battery's electrodes by at least 100 times, enabling them to meet the goals of the project.
The Battery Project initiative grew from an internal "grand challenge" contest run late last year by IBM's Almaden Lab. The contest's winning entry was the lithium-air battery, the design for which the consortium will attempt to perfect by pooling the resources of about 40 engineers and scientists working on The Battery 500 Project. (Listen to a podcast about the project.)
IBM also plans to harness its supercomputers to create a simulation so accurate that it will be able to optimize the battery's design parameters, as well as experiment with different catalysts materials, without having to build expensive prototypes. IBM estimates that it will take two years to determine if the goals of The Battery 500 Project can be met with lithium-air battery technology.
Successful completion of testing of world’s most powerful gas turbine
0 comments Posted by Blind Surfer at 7:23 AMSiemens increases rated output from 340 MW to over 375 MW.
Siemens Energy has successfully completed trial operation of the the world’s most powerful gas turbine, the SGT5-8000H, in the Irsching 4 power plant right on schedule.
After 1500 operating hours, 1200 at full load, and evaluation of the measured data the machine’s original rated output of 340 megawatts (MW) was raised to 375 MW in simple cycle duty. In combined cycle operation output will increase by 40 MW to more than als 570 MW.
These 40 MW are sufficient to supply a further 220,000 people with electricity. Expansion of the plant to a combined cycle station has in the meantime commenced. In 2011, E.ON will take over the world’s most environmentally friendly fossil-fueled power plant.
The test results fully meet the high expectations of the Siemens engineers. “With its energy efficiency and high performance level the new gas turbine is a prime example of climate protection,” said Michael Suess, CEO of the Fossil Power Generation Division of Siemens Energy. “Compared to the first advanced combined cycle plants the new gas turbine reduces annual CO2-emissions by approximately 45,000 metric tons,” added Suess. That is equivalent to the annual CO2 emissions from approximately 25,000 mid-range cars clocking up 20,000 km a year.
“In Irsching, Block 4, we were able to experience the performance of the world’s most efficient gas turbine for ourselves,” said Bernhard Fischer, Member of the Managing Board of E.ON Energie AG and E.ON’s CTO. “Expansion is currently under way to a combined cycle power plant. With its commissioning in the year 2011, it will similarly set new standards when it comes to efficiency and output,” added Fischer.
High efficient gas turbines are part of the Siemens environmental portfolio with which the company earned revenues of nearly EUR19 billion in fiscal 2008, That is, equivalent to about a quarter of Siemens’ total revenue and makes Siemens the world’s leading provider of eco-friendly technology.
The Siemens Energy Sector is the world’s leading supplier of a complete spectrum of products, services and solutions for the generation, transmission and distribution of power and for the extraction, conversion and transport of oil and gas. In fiscal 2008 (ended September 30), the Energy Sector had revenues of approximately EUR22.6 billion and received new orders totaling approximately EUR33.4 billion and posted a profit of EUR1.4 billion. On September 30, 2008, the Energy Sector had a work force of approximately 83,500.
Source: Siemens Energy
Further information: www.siemens.com/energy
