BOLDER Technologies Corp. (Golden, CO) has shipped an initial order of its SecureStart Portable Jump Starter product to Target stores this month. The product is expected to appear in a majority of Targets 900 stores in late April. The Secure Start Portable Jump Starter is a small, lightweight, rechargeable device capable of providing an instant […]
Texas Instruments Inc. (Dallas, TX) recently announced that designers are now able to increase battery life and performance on single- or dual-cell batteries by using their new TPS6100x family of low-power dc/dc converters. These devices are designed for applications in which battery life is vital, such as personal digital assistants and portable medical instruments. The […]
NEC Mobile Energy Corp. and NEC Electronics Inc. (Santa Clara, CA) have developed one of the industry's most advanced laminate-manganese lithium-ion rechargeable battery cells. The three new battery cells (IML270530-2, IML270330-2 and the IML350362-1) are aimed at applications in mobile communication units, such as cellular phones. The new cells use a laminate film for battery […]
Plug Power Inc. (Latham, NY) has signed a joint agreement with Axiva GmbH (Frankfurt, Germany) to develop a high-temperature membrane electrode unit (MEU), which is expected to simplify Plug Power's residential fuel cell systems and decrease their costs. Under the agreement, Plug Power and Axiva will work together exclusively on the development of high-temperature MEUs […]
Eagle-Picher Technologies LLC (Joplin, MO) has announced six years of life testing the nickel-hydrogen SPV battery. Presently, nickel-hydrogen batteries are used to power over 90 percent of all satellites being put in space. The 50Ah SPV battery being tested was activated in June 1994, and began life cycle testing in November 1994. The battery has […]
Moltech Power Systems Inc. (MPS, Cainesville, FL) successfully utilized their nickel-metal hydride technology to power an electric streamliner to 254mph. This speed, reached on October 22 and 23, 1999, at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Wendover, UT, shattered the existing US and world land speed records. The 6,040 NiMH cells in MPS's battery produced 200,000W […]
Siemens Westinghouse Power Corp. (Orlando, FL) and Southern California Edison successfully completed factory testing for the world's first fuel cell/gas turbine hybrid power system. The 220kW proof-of-concept system will be readied for shipment, installation and operation next month at the National Fuel Cell Research Center at the University of California, Irvine. During the testing, the […]
Energy Ventures Inc. (EVI, Toronto, Canada) will receive a CDN$495,000 repayable contribution from the Canadian Government under the IRAP-TPC Precommercialization Assistance initiative. EVI plans to use the contribution to work towards the development of its nickel-zinc and zinc-carbon-bromine rechargeable battery technologies. The total cost of the nickel-zinc and zinc-carbon-bromine battery program is CDN$1.5 million over […]
Astris Energy Inc. (Toronto, Canada) announced that its European subsidiary has completed, tested and delivered a 4kW AFC generator to the Technical University of Mines, Ostrava, Czech Republic. The generator was built and tested by Astris' laboratory in Benesov, Czech Republic. The system is the first of a future line of fuel cell cogeneration units. […]
Inverpower Controls Ltd. (Toronto, Ontario) has been awarded a contract from Ontario Power Generation (OPG) to design and manufacture a 250kW power conversion system for an atmospheric SOFC combined heat and power system. The project is a venture between OPG and Siemens Westinghouse, the SOFC technology provider, and production will be undertaken by Ontario Power […]
Electric Fuel Corp. (Bet Shemesh, Israel) announced production on their universal ZincAir booster powerpack, which will enable cellular phone users to cut the cord while talking and charging their cellular phone, simultaneously. The powerpack, which weighs less than 3 ounces, provides up to three complete charges to the phone's battery without the need for an […]
Arthur D. Little (ADL, Cambridge, MA) has announced the merger of it's industry-leading Epyx fuel processing business with De Nora Fuel Cells (Milan, Italy) to form Nuvera Fuel Cells. Nuvera will maintain operations in Cambridge and Milan and will increase its staff from 80 to more than 200 by the end of the year. Nuvera […]
Ultralife Batteries Inc. (Newark, NY) has been awarded a new three-year contract to provide its BA-X372/U primary (disposable) lithium-manganese dioxide batteries to the US Army. Production is set to begin in May, with an initial contract order valued at $572,000. Should the Army decide to purchase additional batteries, the contract rate could reach approximately $2.5 […]
Eagle-Picher Technologies LLC (Colorado Springs, CO) is celebrating the successful launch of NASA's latest space probe, the IMAGE, which was launched on March 25, 2000, aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket. Eagle-Picher manufactured the cells and assembled the battery for the spacecraft. The company has supplied nickel-cadmium batteries for many NASA missions as well as […]
Pacific Lithium Ltd. (Auckland, New Zealand) has exercised its option and has licensed Energy Ventures Inc.'s (Toronto, Ontario) lithium-ion battery cathode material technology. Pacific Lithium has exclusive license for the manufacture and sale of Energy Venture's lithium-ion cathode materials, and for the manufacture of lithium-ion rechargeable batteries that use those materials. Pacific Lithium decided on […]