Is U.S. Falling Behind On Battery Technologies?

Ford CEO Alan Mulally opened the NY Auto Show this morning with a warning that the US is falling behind in the race to develop new battery and powertrain solutions, and only policymakers can change course. “Governments around the world are going to have a tremendous role to play,” Mulally said.

Lights Out for the Environment: Earth Hour 2010 the Most Successful Earth Hour Yet

In what was the largest public demonstration in history, hundreds of millions of people around the world turned out their lights for one hour last Friday in support of World Wildlife Fund’s Earth Hour, calling for action on climate change. Individuals, businesses and government officials in 4,000 cities across 125 countries turned out for Earth [...]

Is the ‘Batteries for Electric Vehicles’ Bubble Bound to Burst?

The heavy push widespread adoption of electric vehicles has created a gold-rush of sorts. For a variety of potential benefits that range from reducing greenhouse gas emissions to reducing dependency on foreign oil, governments worldwide have put up billions of dollars for the development of battery-powered vehicles. With battery technology becoming just as, if not [...]

Sony’s Active Shutter 3D Glasses: Cost? Battery Life?

The upcoming June release of Sony‘s new active shutter 3D glasses will bring answers to a lot of the questions surrounding Sony’s 3D strategy. While it will take some time after the initial release to get helpful information on the type of viewing experience the glasses will provide, Sony has already started shedding some light [...]

Battery-Bandits? Attempted Landfill Heist Nets 15 Felony Charges Each for North Carolina Duo

The Battery Times heavily preaches the importance of keeping batteries out of landfills, however this isn’t exactly what we had in mind… A pair of men from Salisbury, North Carolina were arrested on Monday for allegedly stealing batteries from machinery at the county landfill. Following the theft, the duo then took the batteries (each fully-charged [...]

Eco-Friendly Ambition: Canadian High Schools Hold Battery-Recycling Competition

11 high schools in Ontario, Canada are doing their part to minimize the damage being done to the environment by dead batteries being discarded in landfills. With a mission to raise awareness in their area about household hazardous waste and the effects it can have on all of us, the schools are holding a competition [...]

Boeing Awards Multi-Million Dollar Lithium Ion Contract to Saft Batteries

The world’s largest airplane manufacturer has recently placed a multi-million dollar order with Saft Batteries. The hefty contract from Boeing calls on Saft to deliver high-performance lithium-ion batteries for the first order for Boeing’s 702B series satellite, a medium-level power satellite with six to 12kW of on-board power. The order is the first under Saft’s [...]

Which is the Most Commonly Used Lithium Battery Today?

Over the past few decades, lithium batteries as a whole have emerged as the preferred and most promising types of batteries throughout the world. However within the lithium battery “family”, there are a variety of different chemistries. The most commonly used? Of the various lithium battery chemistries available, Lithium Manganese Dioxide is far and away [...]

Lithium Ion Investment: California’s Envia Systems Receives $5 Million from State and Fed. Gov’t

As a continued sign of dedication to the development of lithium ion batteries from both the state and federal governments, California’s Envia Systems Inc. was recently awarded $5 million in grant money from the California Energy Commission ($1 mil.) and the U.S. Department of Energy’s ($4 mil.). The grants are designated for Envia’s development strategy [...]

Steve Jobs Speaks: Apple’s iPad Enjoys 10 Hr. Battery Life

Already the subject of much discussion, the battery that will power Apple’s highly anticipated iPad has been once again thrust in the limelight. This time, Apple CEO Steve Jobs himself jumped in on the conversation. A blogger from the “online authority for government IT professionals”-site GCN (Government Computer News) had recently wondered aloud that 10 [...]