eNewsletter

October 2008

PowerGenix Supplies Batteries to North American Light Electric Vehicle Market

PowerGenix has entered into a supply agreement with PowerEagle, a manufacturer of electric bicycles in China. Under the agreement, PowerGenix will supply its NiZn cells for pack fabrication into the entire product line offered by Veloteq, PowerEagle’s North American sales and distribution partner, beginning in 2009.

PowerGenix’s power systems will be featured in both Veloteq’s "power-on-demand" models, powered exclusively by the electric motor, as well as "power-assist" models that require manual pedaling assisted by the electric motor. PowerGenix batteries will also be incorporated in future product developments including an electric motorcycle that complies with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) standards. PowerGenix’s batteries offer enhanced power density and reduced pack weight, allowing Veloteq to increase the power output and range of their bikes while still achieving battery pack weight savings of 60 percent.

By providing more power and runtime in a smaller and lighter form factor, PowerGenix’s NiZn batteries allow ebike users to travel 40 miles on a single charge costing as little as 3 cents, five to six times less expensive compared with lead-acid batteries. In addition, charge time is cut down 75 percent to about one to two hours, providing enhanced mobility and longer travel ranges for ebike commuters.

Lithium-Ion Batteries, The Future for Hybrid and Electric Vehicles

With its work to develop and subsequently manufacture automotive lithium-ion batteries, Bosch is rounding off its portfolio of products for hybrid and electrical drives. SB LiMotive Co. Ltd., its joint venture with its Korean partner Samsung SDI has started its operations in this area on September 1, 2008.

"Apart from Bosch core competencies in automotive technology and Samsung SDI know-how in lithium-ion technology, the two companies will invest between $300 and $400 million dollars in this area in the next five years," Henning Scheider, president of the Gasoline Systems division said.

Bosch's main focus is the concept of the parallel hybrid, whose modular components can be customized to suit the requirements of individual OEMs and their models. Bosch already has its first orders for both gasoline and diesel hybrids. Besides mild and strong hybrid concepts, Bosch also offers simpler methods for innovative start-stop technologies and the recovery of braking energy via the alternator, as these concepts also allow significant CO2 reductions to be made. Within the Bosch Group, the expertise of roughly 370 associates from a wide range of divisions is pooled in a "Hybrid" project unit, whose purpose is to develop and market hybrid and electrical drives. A further 40 associates are involved in the further development and marketing of lithium-ion batteries.

Charge an iPod with Vodka? Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies Launches its First Direct Ethanol Product

Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies has launched the fuel cell industry's first direct ethanol product, the Bio Energy Diversity Kit, which uses tiny amounts of alcohol and water as its fuel.  The Bio Energy Discovery Kit is an educational product used to introduce fuel cell technology to students, aspiring scientists, teachers and engineers. The kit features a fuel cell powered desktop fan that uses a 90 percent water, 10 percent ethanol mix as the source fuel for transforming an electrochemical reaction into electrical energy.

Most fuel cell related developments targeting consumer electronics have so far focused on using liquid methanol (DMFC) as a fuel source. Horizon's new direct ethanol fuel cells (DEFC) can generate small amounts of power for days or weeks at a time using tiny amounts of simple household alcohol, such as diluted vodka. Unlike methanol, or past attempts to use alkaline ethanol solutions, Horizon's device can use plain water and alcohol, which is easily accessible to consumers. Tiny amounts of alcohol can thus be placed in contact with Horizon's fuel cell and slowly converted to electricity that can power small devices.

Direct ethanol fuel cells show promise for a wide range of small devices that do not draw a lot of power but would benefit from significantly more runtime than what current batteries provide. Such devices include remote sensing devices that rely on frequent battery changing and maintenance, new products that light up or emit sound in the contact of alcohol, and even portable consumer electronics such as MP3 or mobile phone chargers.  

Patent Issued for O2Micro’s Battery Charging Architecture

O2Micro International Limited, a supplier of innovative power management, and security components and systems, was issued 12 claims under US patent number 7,414,381 for its Battery Charging Architecture; a continuation of the invention issued June 2006 under another US patent.

This patented Battery Charging circuitry controls the system charging parameter for multiple batteries in parallel. It offers the design community higher charge accuracy in notebook computer applications, as well as fast charging of rechargeable batteries in parallel; parallel charging of batteries at different charging currents, using independent current and voltage sensing for each battery; and it may be configured to accept either analog or digital signals from an associated power management unit.

“O2Micro’s charger family of products is built on this core architecture. Continuation of this patent allows us to continue expanding the benefits of charger solutions,” said Dr. Alex Hartular, vice president, O2Micro.

TI Smart Battery Technology Protects and Manages Multi-Cell Lithium Battery Systems

Texas Instruments, Inc, (TI) has introduced three new smart battery management integrated circuits that improve measurement and protection of multi-cell, lithium-based battery packs. The controllers simplify design in multi-cell lithium-based rechargeable batteries used in uninterruptible power supplies and applications, such as cordless power tools, power-assisted bicycles and portable medical and test equipment.

TI's bq78PL114 battery management controller provides complete lithium battery system control, monitoring and safety functions for 4-series cells. The device integrates accurate battery fuel gauge technology with extremely efficient cell balancing, short-circuit detection and battery protection. The bq78PL114 is completely user-configurable with parametric tables set in Flash memory to support a variety of Li-Ion and Li-Polymer chemistries, operating conditions, safety control and data reporting design requirements.

In addition to the controller, TI introduced its bq76PL102 dual-cell battery monitor, which performs simultaneous voltage and temperature monitoring of each cell and reports those parameters over TI's proprietary PowerLAN communications interface. By leveraging the PowerLAN interface, a designer can combine multiple bq76PL102 monitor devices with the bq78PL114 controller to create a smart battery solution for up to 12 rechargeable cells. Real-time communications is possible in all operating conditions, even during widely fluctuating load conditions. The scalable PowerLAN architecture also provides robust communications in tough electromagnetic and radio frequency interference situations, while avoiding excess power draw and a large number of discrete components.

TI adds another degree of integration, safety and protection to multi-cell applications with a new lithium-based battery protector and analog front end for 5- to 10-cell battery systems. The bq77PL900, which includes an I2C interface for communication with a host controller, can also operate as a stand-alone battery protection circuit. The device integrates a 5-V and a 3.3-V LDO to help power the host controller or other circuits in the system.

The low-power battery protection circuit includes a voltage translation system to measure temperature, system current and individual cell voltages. Cell balancing can be performed through bypassing current around selected cells. The bq77PL900 also provides full safety protection for overvoltage, undervoltage, overtemperature and overcurrent in discharge and short circuit during discharge conditions.

EnerSys Launches EcoSafe Batteries for Renewable Energy Generation Applications

EnerSys has significantly broadened its product support for the fast growing renewable energy market with the recent launch of its EcoSafe product line. EcoSafe batteries, which use lead, nickel and lithium technologies, were developed specifically for renewable energy storage applications, including solar, wind turbine and other electricity-generation alternatives.

EcoSafe products include an enhanced line of lead chemistry batteries, as well as batteries that employ nickel and lithium technologies. EcoSafe batteries offer a selection of energy storage solutions designed to meet the requirements of the latest renewable power-generating operations.

This year, EnerSys is investing in its worldwide manufacturing facilities to expand capacity of lead-based products, including its proprietary thin plate pure lead (TPPL) technology. Recent investments also led to new developments in nickel-based products for solar and wind turbine applications and developments in new lithium-based solutions. These investments resulted in the acquisition and utilization of a comprehensive range of technologies, with particular attention paid to battery chemistry, manufacturing processes and quality control.

Keithley Introduces Fast, Transient, Dual-Channel Power Optimized for High-Speed Testing of Portable Battery Powered Devices

Keithley Instruments, Inc. has introduced the Model 2308 Portable Device Battery/Charger Simulator, a dual-channel battery- and charger-simulating power supply designed to provide the lowest cost testing of both the growing range of mobile phones with new, complex transmission schemes and other types of new portable devices that consume extremely low amounts of power. The Model 2308's fast transient output response maximizes production yields by maintaining a stable voltage level under dynamic loading conditions. In addition, its measurement engine enables more accurate characterization of both full power operation and low current sleep modes for quantifying power consumption so that design and manufacturing can ensure that battery life of the latest portable electronic devices is maximized. The Model 2308 is optimized for ultra-fast test times, allowing manufacturers to lower their cost of test.

Unlike conventional power supplies, the Model 2308 features extremely fast recovery even when load currents change by a factor of 10 or greater. This can happen when a portable device or component transitions near-instantaneously from a sleep or standby state to a full power operating state and then returns to the original state. If the load pulse is too short, the conventional power supply may never return to its stable output level during the pulse. Even with long test leads, which add substantial inductance to the load circuit between the power supply and the device under test (DUT), the Model 2308 maintains a stable output voltage in response to pulse loads with a transient voltage drop of under 90 mV and a transient recovery time of under 35µs. This is critical for mobile phones with pulsed-mode operation such as new EDGE, WiMAX, and future LTE mobile devices. Maintaining a constant output voltage ensures that the DUT does not turn off during testing and that it draws sufficient power to operate properly, thus avoiding false failures due to inadequate sourcing. Furthermore, an excessive overshoot voltage transient can damage components leading to premature device failures. The unique, specialized, Model 2308 has the fast transient response essential for maximizing production yield and product quality by preventing false failures related to conventional sourcing, which cannot provide the high speed response necessary to maintain a constant output under fast-changing loads.

The Model 2308 also saves valuable test time by making fast load current measurements. An optimized command structure minimizes range changes and current measurement times for production testing. The Model 2308 can change range and make a power line cycle measurement in a market-leading 27 ms. With four current ranges spanning 5 A to 5 mA, and resolutions from 100 µA to 0.1 µA, test engineers can monitor small changes in load current measurements for tight quality control on production runs. Furthermore, load currents, even pulses as narrow as 50 µs, are measured with integrating A/D technology. An integrating A/D, by continuously acquiring the signal rather than capturing discrete samples, provides a more accurate measurement than other A/D techniques. With a sampling A/D, information between samples is lost, which reduces the accuracy of the overall measurement.  In addition, the lower noise inherent in integrating A/D converters generates the most stable current readings. The Model 2308 combines outstanding speed with high quality measurements.

Battery Power 2008 – Your Partner in the Battery and Power Management Industry
November 11-12, 2008
Dallas, Texas

Whether this is your first time participating at the Battery Power conference, or if you have attended in the past, Battery Power 2008 will provide you with the most up-to-date developments and technologies in the battery and power management market. Hear from leading venture capitalists on their criteria for investing in battery companies and how they go about making investments. Learn the latest international regulatory issues and their impact the design, cost and time-to market of cells and batteries.
Power management is an increasingly important consideration to battery-powered systems. No matter what type of power systems you are involved in - portable, stationary or automotive - you know that adapting to new demands and technology is imperative.

Attend the Power Management track and discover the latest technologies to fuel gauging and power conversion.
Click here to see the entire program: http://www.batterypoweronline.com/bp08_program.htm.

Additionally, pre-conference workshops will provide intimate, class room settings with experts from Texas Instruments and Microchip Technology.

Click here for details: http://www.batterypoweronline.com/bp08_workshop.htm.

Don’t miss this opportunity to stay up-to-date on the latest capabilities, design issues and trends in batteries and battery-powered products and systems.

Register today and save on exceptional team discounts: http://www.batterypoweronline.com/bp08_reg.php.

2008 MRS Fall Meeting
December 1-5
Boston, MA

• Electronics, Photonics, and Magnetism: Hard and soft matter, integration issues, hard-soft hybrids, device physics, and applications
• Energy and the Environment: Materials for nuclear, solar, and other energy sources; materials innovations for more efficient utilization and production of energy
• Engineered Materials and Modeling: Novel applications of materials for smart systems and biocomplex applications; multiscale modeling of hard, soft, and biomaterials
• Nanoscience: Applications of novel properties attributable to nanometer-structured materials
• Synthesis and Characterization: Characterization of length scales covering several decades of time and space; synthesis of new materials with complex structures and chemistry

Drawing over 5,000 materials science and engineering professionals from around the world, the MRS Fall Meeting will feature 45 technical symposia spanning a broad range of topics including: electronics, photonics and magnetism; energy and the environment; engineered materials and modeling; nanoscience; and synthesis and characterization. A large-scale exhibition, featuring over 200 international exhibitors, will be held in conjunction with the meeting. This exhibit will encompass the full spectrum of equipment, instrumentation, software, publications and services for the materials research community.

Click here for more info.

POWER-GEN International
December 2-4, 2008
Orlando, Florida

Attend POWER-GEN International, December 2-4, 2008 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL.  Featuring more than 17,000 attendees and 1200 exhibiting companies, POWER-GEN International is the world's largest, most comprehensive power generation event.  POWER-GEN's conference program includes more than 200 presentations from experts and specialists from nearly all segments of the industry.  Held simultaneously, the exhibition showcases thousands of cutting-edge technologies, products and services. Register today at the year's most anticipated event by visiting www.power-gen.com

4th Lithium Mobile Power
Advances in Lithium Battery Technologies for Mobile Applications
December 8-9, 2008
Las Vegas, NV
www.knowledgefoundation.com

Significant innovations in lithium-ion batteries have propelled this technology to a position in the marketplace far exceeding market survey expectations. From a vast array of portable applications, to micro medical devices, to high-power automotive, these breakthroughs have paved the way for an emerging market with unlimited potential.

Unlike other conferences which only review new materials for use in certain parts of the power generating device or device-specific battery applications, Lithium Mobile Power will guide you from technology and materials development through device packaging and integration to applications in a mobile power marketplace, with a special session on battery safety.

To be removed from this distribution list please click here
To change the status of any contact information, call 720-528-3770.