Worldwide, batteries are getting a great deal of backing, but probably not at the level of China’s push to rule over world electric vehicle markets. Recently, China awarded BYD $3.7 billion to enable it to pursue dominance of the world EV market. According to Bloomberg.com, “Virtually all of China’s listed companies received direct handouts in 2022, the Kiel Institute [for the World Economy] said, flagging support for wind, solar and railway rolling stock companies. Industry aid in China is “at least three to four” times higher than in large EU and OECD countries, the group said.” The European Union is busy investigating China’s underwriting of its own auto industry in what the EU sees as an anti-competitive advantage in an ongoing EV price war. America, for the most part, and aside from relatively minor Advanced Research Project Agency – Electric (ARPA-E) funding, does not seem to encourage EV development. What usually starts with automotive advancement eventually finds its way skyward. …
Amprius Announces 500 Watt-Hour per Kilogram Cell
Amprius has announced a 500 Watt-hour per kilogram cell, essentially doubling the energy density available up to now. Remember, though, that cell-levels of energy drop as the cells are incorporated into modules and packs, carrying the burdens of containment packaging, bus bars, and battery management systems (BMS) that lower total output. Pack levels will be lower. Slow Progress This comes as the culmination of at least 14 year’s work, starting with Yi Cui’s work at Stanford University. Your editor first saw him at a 2009 CAFE Foundation symposium at the Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos, California. He was a proponent of the 10X battery, which at that time would have meant 10 times the energy storage of then typical cells, or around 10 times the 200 Watt-hours per kilogram then considered to be a respectable achievement. This blog reported in 2013, “According to Green Car Congress, ‘The company has also demonstrated greater than 650 and 700 Wh/L batteries with …