Emissions Reducing Battery Gets Go-ahead
Australian UltraBattery Awarded $32.5 million from US Government
The US battery manufacturer East Penn has received a $US32.5 million grant from President Barack Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The grant is accelerate the Australian CSIRO-developed UltraBattery to commercial stage for hybrid car use in North America.
UltraBattery won the ARRA funding in a competitive selection process conducted by the US Department of Energy. “The Department of Energy grant marks a significant endorsement of UltraBattery by the US Government,” said Dr Alex Won, Flagship Director of CSIRO’s Energy Transformed Flagship, announcing the grant to the Australian media at the Energy Transformed Flagship headquarters in Newcastle, NSW..
Energy Efficient UltraBattery Cuts Emissions and Costs
The UltraBattery combines a supercapacitor and a lead/acid battery in a single unit, creating a hybrid car battery that lasts longer, costs less and is more powerful than current technologies used in hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs).
In 2008, the UltraBattery completed 12 months’ testing at Britain’s Millbrook race track, one of Europe’s leading locations for the development and demonstration of land vehicles. It reached the 100,000 mile mark and still had power to spare.
As well as being more powerful and longer lasting than current HEV batteries, the UltraBattery also has the ability to provide and absorb charge rapidly during vehicle acceleration and braking.
“This makes it particularly suitable for HEVs, which rely on the electric motor to meet peak power needs during acceleration, and it can recapture energy normally wasted through braking to recharge the battery,” Dr Won told the media.
UltraBattery has a life cycle that is at least four times longer and produces 50 per cent more power than conventional battery systems. It’s also about 70 per cent cheaper than the batteries currently used in HEVs.
As well as being used in HEVs, the battery could replace standard lead/acid batteries in petrol-driven vehicles.
Commercialization Soon for the UltraBattery
East Penn has signed an international commercialization and distribution agreement for the UltraBattery technology throughout North America, Mexico and Canada. It will use the ARRA grant to increase production of the UltraBattery for micro and mild hybrid applications.
“UltraBattery is an exciting product that could significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector and CSIRO is thrilled to be working closely with East Penn to develop the technology in North America,” Dr Won said.
“The collaboration and UltraBattery’s ongoing success reinforces the valuable link between quality research and commercial development.”
UltraBattery is already in production at Japan’s Furukawa Battery Company, the company which produced the successful prototype of the battery.
In 2008 it was reported that Furukawa was gearing up for volume manufacture to service Japan and Thailand, However, the previous head of the Energy Transformed Flagship, Dr John Wright, said at the time of that announcement, that major car companies were still being approached to take up the battery.
Renewable Energy Applications for UltraBattery
Dr Wright pointed out that UltraBattery technology also has applications for renewable energy storage from wind and solar.
CSIRO is part of a technology start-up that plans to develop and commercialize battery-based storage solutions for these energy sources.
For more background on the UltraBattery, see Aussie Battery Cuts CO2 Emissions
You might also be interested in Cut Back on CO2 to Save Corals and Crude Fuel from Garden Waste
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