Wright Electric’s 8-Year Plan

Dean Sigler Announcements, Batteries, Electric Powerplants, Fuel Cells, hydrogen, Hydrogen Fuel, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

Jeffrey Engler has headed up Wright Electric for the last decade, working to provide efficient motors, inverters and overall power systems for airliners.  Now, his firm is working to develop those airliners.  From a startup in 2016, looking for a single-engine light aircraft to convert to hybrid power, Jeffrey has grown Wright to a recognized force in future flight.  Presenting a mission statement and schedule for the next eight years, Wright has ambitious, but reasonable plans. Currently, Wright is testing a two megawatt motor and inverter, “Collaborating with NASA, U.S. Department of Energy, and U.S. Department of Defense.”  Testing will continue through 2023. The firm predicts it will be flying its Wright Spirit between the busiest “city-pairs” in the world …

Storedot: Silicon and Tin for a Fast Charge

Dean Sigler Batteries, Electric Powerplants, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

Storedot is an Israeli battery company with an appealing sales pitch – their batteries can be fully charged in minutes rather than hours.  To make that happen, they are combining silicon, long considered a necessity for high energy density, and a more humble material – tin. Beside the unique material blend, Storedot is working on a 4680 battery (46 millimeters in diameter, 80 in length) equivalent to what Tesla has announced for use in its cars.  Storedot claims 10 minutes for a full charge on an automobile.  They demonstrated the ability to fully charge an electric scooter in five minutes last year.  Autos could have 200 miles added to their batteries in 10 minutes by 2024, based on Storedot’s timeline. …

The 17X Aluminum-Air Battery?

Dean Sigler Batteries, Electric Aircraft Materials, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

Jaephil Cho has a surprise for us – an aluminum-air battery that is potentially (no pun intended) more energetic than gasoline.  Director of the Research Center for Innovative Battery Technologies and Professor in the School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Cho and his students have released over 350 papers, including one titled, “Seed-mediated atomic-scale reconstruction of silver manganate nanoplates for oxygen reduction towards high-energy aluminum-air flow batteries.” While such titles might not get him on the NY Times best-seller list, Cho is widely respected, UNIST reporting he has been named to the 2017 Highly Cited Researchers List in materials science, a second such honor for him. Professor Cho’ Surprise Professor Cho’s …

Phinergy: The 100X Battery?

Dean Sigler Electric Powerplants, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

Phinergy is an Israeli startup that promises high energy density energy storage systems, coupling zero emissions with light weight and great range in vehicle use.  The company’s technology is similar to that of another Israeli firm, Alydro, reported here last year, and to the use of aluminum beverage can pull tabs, water and vinegar by a Spanish teacher and student demonstrated at the model car level. While Alydro does not seem to have shown a working model, Phinergy is demonstrating its technology in a small vehicle, sharing it all in an interview with Bloomberg Television. (Video updated June 28, 2017) Phinergy explains its unique technology.  “Unlike conventional batteries that carry oxygen, these batteries freely breathe oxygen from the ambient air …