Ideally, battery materials should be abundant, cheap, and safe. NaCl (salt) seems to manage three out of three of these, but can it manage the energy and power density of less abundant and more expensive materials such as lithium? Faradion, an English enterprise specializing in “advanced energy storage solutions,” thinks that the salt of the earth may indeed be part of the secret sauce in their new battery. Initial applications will probably be in large energy-storage systems associated with renewable energy, but forward-looking statements (we used to call them predictions) show the potential for lighter, smaller batteries that could compete with lithium-ion cells. Since the introduction of new technology does not usually come from a single source, Faradion is partnered with co-funders Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency; Williams Advanced Engineering and the University of Oxford. The group is building 3 Amp-hour prismatic cells “containing Faradion’s novel cell chemistry, and are being incorporated into battery packs by Williams.” This will …
Electroflight, Williams to Field F1 Electric Air Racer
The StroudLife headline reads, “Williams F1 boffins link-up with Nympsfield world record electric plane bid.” A boffin, in English parlance, is “a person engaged in scientific or technical research,” or “a person with knowledge or a skill considered to be complex, arcane, and difficult.” Two years ago, the Blog reported on the TEACO Bat, a Formula 1 race plane to be powered by batteries and set to take on the world speed record for electric airplanes. Since then, the company has changed its name to Electroflight, partly because Internet inquiries often sent inquirers to TESCO, a grocery retail company. There should be less confusion now. The Stroud, UK newspaper reported, “Electroflight is linking up with Williams Advanced Engineering to build an electrically-powered aeroplane capable of more than 300 mph. “The ‘current’ speed record for electrically-powered flight stands at 220 mph but the tie up means they are aiming high. “Williams Advanced Engineering is the technology and engineering services business of the Williams group …
Racing Improves the Electric Breed
September 2014 will mark the debut of a new electric racing series, Formula E, with all the things essential to aeronautical design – light weight, strength, speed, and power – highlighted in abundance. Staged as a series of 10 races around the world on city streets, the series will field 10 teams, each with two Spark-Renault SRT-01E racers. This is the first electric race vehicle to be homologated, or approved, by the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile), the international body overseeing formula and rally car racing. The cars’ monocoque aluminum and carbon fiber chassis “fully complies with the 2014 FIA crash tests – the same used to regulate Formula One. The French firm Spark Racing Technology, along with others including Italian Dallara, constructed the vehicles, and McLaren Electronics Systems the electric powertrain and electronics. Williams Advanced Engineering supplies the 200 kilowatt (270 horsepower) batteries, and a Hewland paddle shift sequential gearbox transmits all that power to Michelin 18-inch tires. Renault …