Two varying approaches to battery development may hold clues to future directions for energy storage. At the same time, their announcements, promising as they seem, reinforce our cautious attitudes toward how battery performance numbers are presented. PNNL Attacks the Electrolyte Issue According to Green Optimistic, “Researchers from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have developed a new formula for battery’s electrolyte solution to enhance its performance unprecedentedly in terms of its service life and storage capacity or an electric vehicle’s range.” The video gives an overview of what it takes to make a battery and hints at the reasons battery research takes so long to give up improved energy storage devices. Unprecedented the development may be, and the promise of a battery with a 7X longer lifespan and two-to-three times longer range than currently-available batteries certainly captures our attention. Its own press release suggests that PNNL researchers are enthusiastic about the longevity of their new chemistry. “When it comes to …
QinetiQ Zephyr Breaks Official Record for Solar-Powered Endurance
According to BBC News and GlobalFlight.com, QinetiQ’s Zephyr, a 22.5 meter (72 feet) unmanned, solar-powered aircraft has been in the air for more than a week over the Yuma, Arizona Proving Grounds, and program managers intend to keep it there for a total time of at least fourteen days. Having flown since 6:40 a.m. July 9, its endurance is now four times that of any other unmanned aerial vehicle. A US Global Hawk holds the current official world endurance record for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) of 30 hours, 24 minutes. Zephyr’s record is being certified by the Federation Aeronautique Internationale, the world air sports federation. Jon Saltmarsh, Zephyr’s project manager, says the craft, “Is basically the first ‘eternal aircraft,’” a name once given to AeroVironment’s Helios and related aircraft. The 50 kilogram (110 pound) unmanned airplane emulates the flight pattern followed by Andre’ Borschberg in taking the Solar Impulse to a world record for manned solar-powered airplanes. Its thin solar cells power the twin …