![3-D Printed Microbattery Opens New World of Miniaturization
by Michael Keller
In an engineering first, engineers at Harvard University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have 3-D printed a tiny working lithium-ion battery as small as a grain of sand.
They say their innovation is capable of powering miniature electronics, medical implants and robots. The battery is made using a 3-D printer nozzle as narrow as a human hair, which extrudes nanoparticles of lithium metal oxide compounds to create tightly interlaced electrodes. These are then sealed in a tiny compartment that is filled with liquid electrolyte to make the battery work.
Click through to see a video of the printing process and another view of the battery.[[MORE]]
(To create the microbattery, a custom-built 3D printer extrudes special inks through a nozzle narrower than a human hair. Those inks solidify to create the battery’s anode (red) and cathode (purple), layer by layer. A case (green) then encloses the electrodes and the electrolyte solution added to create a working microbattery. Image courtesy study authors/Harvard University.)
The team says their work is important because today’s miniature devices must rely on thin-film solid batteries that do not deliver sufficient energy for the demands of tomorrow. The only current battery tech that can supply the right power is lithium-ion chemistry using liquid electrolytes.
“The electrochemical performance [of the microbattery] is comparable to commercial batteries in terms of charge and discharge rate, cycle life and energy densities. We’re just able to achieve this on a much smaller scale,” said Shen Dillon, a University of Illinois materials science and engineering assistant professor, in a news release.
Their work was just published online in the journal Advanced Materials.
Top Image: A research team from the Wyss Institute at Harvard University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign demonstrated the ability to 3D-print a battery. This electron microscopy image shows the interlaced stack of electrodes that were printed layer by layer to create the working anode and cathode of a microbattery. Courtesy Ke Sun, Teng-Sing Wei, Jennifer Lewis, Shen J. Dillon.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/ed466a0f031b27f5779df7f5526ed5f0/tumblr_monblwqLaz1rwn6y8o1_500.jpg)
3-D Printed Microbattery Opens New World of Miniaturization
In an engineering first, engineers at Harvard University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have 3-D printed a tiny working lithium-ion battery as small as a grain of sand.
They say their innovation is capable of powering miniature electronics, medical implants and robots. The battery is made using a 3-D printer nozzle as narrow as a human hair, which extrudes nanoparticles of lithium metal oxide compounds to create tightly interlaced electrodes. These are then sealed in a tiny compartment that is filled with liquid electrolyte to make the battery work.
Click through to see a video of the printing process and another view of the battery.
June 19th, 2013
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Soccer’s ‘Electric’ Potential
In June, as national soccer teams from around the world resume playing qualification games for the 2014 World Cup, a group of 20-somethings will kick off a soccer-related project with a global purpose that goes beyond athletic competition.
They will start full-scale manufacture of soccer-style balls that generate and store electric power when kicked around.
After playtime with these “Soccket” balls, families and communities that lack reliable access to electricity can use the balls’ power for lighting and – eventually – other electrical applications.
June 11th, 2013
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Electric Bus Flash Charges In 15 Seconds
A new electric bus system does away with ugly overhead power lines and replaces them with next-generation “flash” boosting technology that keeps the vehicle charged along its route.
Articulated electric buses that are part of the system have laser-guided arms on their roofs that align with fast-charging receptacles at bus stops. The recharging system delivers 400 kilowatts in 15 seconds at every third or fourth stop, topping off the vehicle’s battery until it reaches the end of its route. Onboard batteries store power delivered from the electrified bus stops and through regenerative braking. At the end of the line, the bus receives a three- to four-minute full charge.
The project, called TOSA, is first being deployed on a pilot basis in Geneva, Switzerland, where its builders say it will meet the needs of high capacity, high frequency bus routes during rush hours. Geneva’s transit authorities say the power for the TOSA system will be generated through hydropower, meaning the buses will not produce carbon dioxide and the enterprise will fit into the city’s sustainability plans.
June 10th, 2013
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Power Walking, Literally
Rice University mechanical engineering students have built a prototype shoe fitting that generates enough energy to power portable electronics and recharge batteries.
The fitting, called PediPower, diverts the energy of heel strikes while walking, which would otherwise be lost into the ground, through a small gear system and generator. In bench tests, it delivered an average 400 milliwatts, enough to charge a battery or operate a cell phone. Their creation joins another body-powered generator developed by U.S. and Canadian scientists—a knee brace that can recharge up to 10 cell phones at once.
The Rice seniors hope their innovation will be improved upon by the next group taking it up to boost power output and decrease size. The goal is for the device to reliably produce enough energy to power artificial heart valves.
HT to Laughing Squid for spotting this one.
May 22nd, 2013
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